TX Repo Man Murdered, Suspect Still at Large

Odessa, TX – October 1. 2015 – The search continued Friday for murder suspect Khalifah Muhammad, 29, a Midland cab driver accused of shooting and murdering “West Texas Auto Recovery” Repo Man, Brandon Russell, 24, Wednesday night at Acacia Park Apartments in Odessa.

Russell suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died at the hospital.

Muhammad is described as a 5’11, 165 pound black man with an afro.

Anyone with information on the suspect’s whereabouts is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 333-TIPS immediately, as he is considered armed and dangerous.

CBS 7 News spoke with several of Russell’s friends Thursday who described him as a gentle giant who worked as a repo man and was just trying to do his job Wednesday night when he was killed.

One of those friends was Israel Gomez, who also happens to be Russell’s supervisor at West Texas Auto recovery in Odessa.

Gomez knows first-hand how dangerous it can be working as a repo man, but never did he think he’d have to bury one of his employees one day.

“Turn en route to a disturbance at Oakwood and University, it’s going to be between the complainant and somebody trying to repossess his vehicle,” an Odessa Police Dispatcher said over the scanner. “The PSR can hear arguing and heard somebody mention a taser.”

Just minutes after this 911 call was made, Russell, originally from El Paso, was allegedly shot and killed by Muhammad.

Unfortunately, this is the ultimate act of violence that those in the repossession industry face when they leave for work every day.

“We’re hard working members of the community just like everybody else is,” Gomez said. “We get a bad rep because we’re repo guys, but at the end of the day we’re fathers, we’re brothers, we’re husbands and we want to go home just like everyone else does.”

Gomez was a longtime friend of Russell’s and as of last year became his boss.

“Brandon was a good kid, he was a type of kid that helped everybody and anybody, treated everybody equally, loved everybody, loved his job, couldn’t hurt a fly this kid,” Gomez said. “This kid did not deserve to die, especially over a car.”

Gomez has had a few close calls himself while on the job, from verbal threats to even having a gun pulled on him, but he says this tragic murder has put everyone in the company on high alert.