Man indicted in fatal shooting at Pleasant Farms

An Ector County Grand Jury has indicted a 24-year-old man who reportedly shot another man in the back of the head in Pleasant Farms.

Mattew Brian Roe was indicted on July 13 with murder, a first-degree felony. In addition to the murder charge, Roe also has  a going off bond charge for evading arrest or detention with previous conviction, a state jail felony, and assault, a class A misdemeanor.

Roe has three bonds totaling $551,000 and was still in custody as of Thursday afternoon, jail records show.

Court records detail that Roe is scheduled to have an arraignment hearing at 3 p.m. Aug. 4 in the 70th District courtroom of Judge Denn Whalen.

Deputies responded to the reported fatal shooting at 1:22 a.m. April 12 in the 4600 block of Papaw Street in Pleasant Farms, an Ector County Sheriff’s Office probable cause affidavit detailed.

The victim was reportedly identified as 25-year-old Pablo Ibarra Melendez.

A witness at the scene stated she and Melendez were giving her boyfriend and his two younger half-brothers a ride to her residence in south Ector County, the affidavit stated. The gunman was identified as Roe.

The witness reportedly detailed to deputies that Melendez was in the driver’s seat of a silver minivan, she was in the passenger seat, a white male was sitting in the second row seat farthest to the left, Roe was sitting in the center of the second row seat and a black male was sitting in the third row seat.

While driving west in the 4600 block of Papaw Street, Roe shot Melendez in the back of the head with a small black handgun, the affidavit stated. Roe put the minivan in park and exited the vehicle running away on foot. The other white male and black male also exited the vehicle and ran away on foot. The witness called 911.

Roe is also a registered sex offender with an annual verification requirement, the Texas Department of Public Safety Texas Sex Offender Registration Program detailed. His projected ending registration date is Jan. 17, 2026.