Woman told boyfriend to kill woman he used to ‘talk to,’ Dallas police say

Tribune Content Agency

DALLAS — A couple jailed last week are accused in the shooting death of a woman in South Dallas earlier this month.

Dallas police said Breaira Martin ordered her boyfriend, Gabriel Leyuas, to kill a woman Leyuas used to “talk to” after the woman and Martin got into an argument in a parking lot in the 4600 block of South Malcolm X Boulevard, according to an arrest-warrant affidavit.

Martin, 27, and Leyuas, 26, were arrested Wednesday on one count each of murder. It is unclear whether they have attorneys.

According to the affidavit, Keerstin Cooper parked with two friends about 1:20 a.m. and remained in the car while her friends went into a store. Martin approached Cooper as she sat in the car.

Martin was upset with Cooper because she used to “talk to” Leyuas, according to police. She yelled at Cooper through the open window of the car before signaling for Leyuas to come over and telling him to “smoke” the other woman, police said.

Leyuas approached the car, pulled a handgun from his waistband and fired two shots through the windshield, striking Cooper, police said.

Cooper’s friends drove her to a hospital, where she died hours later. Police wrote in the affidavit that Leyuas shot at the vehicle as it drove off.

A Dallas officer saw the shooting, and tried chasing the suspects unsuccessfully.

Surveillance video captured the incident, and police identified Leyuas and Martin through gang records and social media, according to the affidavit. An anonymous caller also provided the suspects’ names.

Martin and Leyuas remained in the Dallas County jail Tuesday. No bail has been set for Martin; it is set at $750,000 for Leyuas.