Investigators said a manager was shot after a short conversation inside the South U.S. 1 business.

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A 20-year-old Vero Beach man is jailed on a first-degree murder charge after police said he fatally shot a Fort Pierce gold shop manager during business hours on April 28.

The case centers on the killing of Lanessa Rodriguez, 35, inside Cash Out Gold and Silver at 4603 South U.S. Highway 1. Police said Landen Julian Ballard entered the shop with another man, sat near Rodriguez and opened fire after several minutes of conversation. The shooting drew a major homicide response, led to the recovery of a 9mm handgun near Interstate 95 and later brought a second arrest tied to evidence handling after the killing.

Officers were called just after 7 p.m. after another employee could not reach Rodriguez and went to the store to check on her. That worker found Rodriguez on the floor with blood around her and called 911. Police said Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators found bullet casings and damage inside the store, then began tracing who had been in the business during the final stretch of the day. By the next afternoon, Fort Pierce Police Chief David Smith said Ballard had been arrested in Fort Pierce. Smith said detectives were still working to identify the other man seen inside the store with him.

Court records described a brief and calm-looking exchange before the shooting. Police said surveillance video showed Ballard sitting across from Rodriguez, using his phone and moving his leg while speaking with her. Investigators said he pulled a black firearm from his hip area and kept it out of Rodriguez’s view. After two to five minutes, police said, he fired once, striking her in the shoulder. Rodriguez stood up, and Ballard fired more rounds that struck her in the chest. Police said the video showed him emptying the magazine before leaving. Investigators said Rodriguez appeared to reach toward a phone after the men left.

A woman who told police she drove Ballard to the store later contacted authorities in Vero Beach, according to the arrest warrant. She said Ballard had reached out that day because he wanted to sell a gold pendant. She also said he had spoken by phone with a woman she believed was Rodriguez and that Rodriguez had previously offered him work. The woman said she stayed in the vehicle while Ballard and another man went inside. After they returned, she told investigators, Ballard said he had shot Rodriguez and then made a remark about feeling no remorse.

The driver’s account became a key part of the case because police said she described what happened after the men left the shop. She told investigators that Ballard threw a gun and magazine out the passenger side window while they drove. Police later recovered an M and P Shield 9mm firearm near Indrio Road and I-95. The woman also said Ballard wanted to return to the shop to rob it, but the group saw police activity and went back toward Vero Beach. After dropping off Ballard and the other man, she went to police. Investigators also monitored a phone call in which police said Ballard again spoke about having no remorse and said he was at a parent’s home.

Ballard was arrested at his mother’s house on Carlton Court with help from the U.S. Marshals Service, police said. He was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail on charges of first-degree premeditated murder, tampering with physical evidence and violation of probation. Local reports said he had been on community supervision in a 2025 case involving written threats to kill or injure. Police have not said publicly that Rodriguez was targeted because of her gender identity, her work or any earlier dispute. Investigators have described the case through surveillance footage, witness statements and physical evidence, while leaving the motive unresolved.

The investigation widened after the first arrest. Police later announced that Tylen Jerome Ryan, 22, of Vero Beach, had been arrested on a tampering with evidence charge. Earlier in the case, police had said they were trying to identify another person who had gone into the business with Ballard and that the person had not yet been labeled a suspect. The later arrest added a new court track while leaving the murder charge against Ballard at the center of the case. Police have not announced that Ryan is accused of firing a weapon. The charge against him concerns what authorities say happened after the shooting.

Friends remembered Rodriguez as Lanessa, a transgender woman who worked in the shop and was known in local drag and LGBTQ circles. Police records identified her by a legal name that friends said did not reflect how she lived publicly. Nayomy Nomelin, a close friend, described Rodriguez as generous and driven, saying she had been expanding her work and building a life across Fort Pierce and Vero Beach. Another worker, Tina Dirkes, said she expected to help with Ballard’s job interview that day. “It was at the end of the day,” Dirkes said, describing the timing of the meeting that preceded the shooting.

The killing left the small storefront closed while investigators built the case from video, witness interviews and recovered evidence. Court records have not listed a publicly available next hearing date for Ballard. Ryan’s tampering case is moving separately. As of May 23, both cases remained tied to the April 28 shooting on South U.S. 1.

Author note: Last updated May 23, 2026.