The investigation followed a trail from a gold shop floor to a discarded firearm near I-95.
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Surveillance video and a witness account drove the investigation into the April 28 shooting death of a Fort Pierce gold shop manager, police said in court records.
The victim, 35-year-old Lanessa Rodriguez, was found dead inside Cash Out Gold and Silver on South U.S. Highway 1 after a co-worker became alarmed that she could not be reached. Police later charged Landen Julian Ballard, 20, with first-degree premeditated murder, tampering with evidence and violation of probation. A second Vero Beach man, Tylen Jerome Ryan, 22, was later arrested on a tampering with evidence charge as detectives continued reviewing what happened before and after the shooting.
The evidence trail started inside the store. Police said Ballard entered with another man and sat across from Rodriguez, who was working as manager. The encounter did not begin as a robbery in plain view, according to the court records described by investigators. Instead, Ballard and Rodriguez talked for several minutes while he handled his phone and moved his leg. Police said he drew a firearm from his hip area but kept it hidden from her sight. The conversation continued until he lifted the gun and fired. Rodriguez tried to stand after the first shot, police said, before more rounds struck her.
Investigators said the video showed Ballard firing until the magazine was empty. The recording also captured the aftermath, including Rodriguez’s final attempt to reach toward a phone after the men left, police said. When officers arrived, they found casings and bullet holes in the business. The details became central to the first-degree murder allegation because police described a sequence in which Ballard sat, waited, concealed the weapon and then fired during an otherwise calm exchange. Authorities have not publicly released the full video, and the descriptions in the case come from investigators and court documents.
The next major break came from a woman who contacted police in Vero Beach at about 11 p.m. the same night. She told investigators she had driven Ballard and another man to the Fort Pierce store. She said Ballard had told her he wanted to sell a gold pendant and had spoken to a woman she believed was Rodriguez before the visit. She also told police Rodriguez had previously offered Ballard work. The woman said she remained outside while the men went in. After they returned to the vehicle, she said, Ballard admitted shooting Rodriguez and spoke about the killing without regret.
The driver’s statement helped police search beyond the storefront. She said Ballard threw the gun and magazine from the passenger side window as the group drove away. Investigators later found a 9mm M and P Shield near Indrio Road and Interstate 95. The woman also said Ballard wanted to return to the shop to steal from it, but the group saw police at the scene and did not go back inside. The statement gave detectives a post-shooting route, an alleged disposal point and a possible reason the group was seen moving between Fort Pierce and Vero Beach after the killing.
Police also used a controlled phone call after the driver came forward. During that call, investigators said, Ballard again made a remark about having no remorse and said Rodriguez was not breathing. Police said he also mentioned being at a parent’s house and planning to leave for New York. Officers arrested him at his mother’s home on Carlton Court with help from the U.S. Marshals Service. The arrest came the day after the shooting, after police had already recovered physical evidence and reviewed video from inside the business. Ballard was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail.
The case then moved into a broader evidence review. At a news conference after Ballard’s arrest, Police Chief David Smith said detectives were working to identify the other man who had gone into the store. At that point, police said the man had not been publicly accused of wrongdoing. The later arrest of Ryan on a tampering charge showed the investigation had shifted from identifying witnesses and people present to building possible allegations about evidence handling. Police have not said Ryan shot Rodriguez. The charge against him does not replace the murder case against Ballard but adds a separate claim linked to the same homicide.
Rodriguez’s identity became part of the public discussion because police records used a legal name while friends identified her as Lanessa. Friends said she was a transgender woman known in the local drag circuit and remembered her as warm, generous and ambitious. They said she had family who loved her and a circle of friends who saw her as a steady presence. Those close to her also described her as a worker and entrepreneur who had been focused on growth. The criminal case, with its affidavits and charges, tells one part of the story. Her friends’ accounts added the loss felt outside the courtroom.
The motive remains one of the main unanswered questions. Police have described an offer of work, a claimed attempt to sell a pendant and a conversation before the gunfire. They have not said why Ballard allegedly fired, whether the shooting was tied to a planned robbery, or whether Rodriguez’s identity played any role. Investigators have said the group discussed returning to rob the store after the shooting, but the available records do not say that a robbery was completed before Rodriguez was killed. That uncertainty is likely to remain important as prosecutors move from arrest documents to formal court filings and hearings.
The case stands on three main pieces of evidence described by police: the store video, the driver’s statement and the recovered firearm. Ballard faced the murder charge in St. Lucie County, while Ryan faced a separate evidence-tampering case tied to the investigation.
Author note: Last updated May 23, 2026.