Commerce residents were shaken earlier this month by an attempted robbery that resulted in the shooting death of Commerce resident Corey Dominic Heath at the Lamplight Lodge apartments, just one block from campus.

Commerce police are still looking for another individual involved in the incident, who fled the scene following the shooting of Heath. Police believe Heath and his accomplice were attempting to burglarize the apartment when Heath was killed. Investigators with the CPD believed they may have identified the second individual with Heath, but are still currently working on leads to locate the suspect. According to the Commerce Police Department’s Public Information Officer Alex Suarez, the two individuals were familiar with the owner of the unit, and specifically targeted his home for the burglary.

“[Heath] was the suspect, and we gathered that he went over there to steal money and drugs from the residence,” Suarez said. “He was overpowered [by the occupant], and was shot with his own firearm.”

Two other individuals have been taken into custody since the shooting for Tampering with Physical Evidence related to the crime. The two, Marquis Devon Johnson, 20, and Lenzell Lacharles Fulcher, 21, both originally from Lancaster, were also residents of the apartment building, Lamplight Lodge. Officers are still questioning nearby residents as to the identity and location of the second suspect.

“We are still following leads on the other fellow who was involved,” Suarez said. “He fled the scene, and no one has said to have seen him.”

The area of Lamplight Lodge, which sits on the corner of Moore and Washington streets one block east of campus, is a popular location for students living off-campus due to its close proximity to Texas A&M University – Commerce and relatively inexpensive housing options. According to Suarez, there were three individuals living at Lamplight Lodge at the time of the incident who were either students or looking to start school, although two of them have now since withdrawn.

Suarez wished to emphasize that this incident was not a random attack, but rather a specifically targeted burglary-gone-wrong related to the unit being a known location of drugs and money. As such, the majority of Commerce residents have nothing to fear, even with a suspect still on the loose.

“This is not a general danger,” Suarez said. “This was specifically targeted. The general public is not in danger in any way, this is one of those things that happened because of drugs and money.”

Police are still seeking any information that may lead to the arrest of the missing suspect.