A second murder arrest follows Midland fatal crash

A Midland man has been arrested a second time on a murder charge. According to detention records, Roberto Pando III, 36, was arrested on a first-degree murder charge after a second person died in connection with a pursuit that ended in a fatal crash in Midland. According to a Midland Police Department statement, officers responded to a reported disturbance involving two vehicles at about 1:24 a.m. Monday, June 1. When officers arrived near the intersection of Loop 250 and Fairgrounds Road, they found a 2009 Ford F-150. An affidavit obtained last week by the Reporter-Telegram said a video recorded on Pando’s cellphone appeared to show the pursuit and collision. In the affidavit, detectives noted that the Ford had collided with a concrete retention wall beneath the intersection of North Fairgrounds Road and Loop 250. Detectives said the Ford had significant front-end damage. At the scene, detectives also learned of a 911 call made by one of the occupants of the Ford shortly before the crash. During the emergency call, the affidavit noted that the occupants of the Ford could be heard expressing fear and concern that another pickup truck was following them from their neighborhood. “The occupants appeared frightened and stated that the driver of the pickup displayed a firearm,” said the affidavit. “At one point during the 911 call, a loud popping sound could be heard in the background. Immediately afterward, the occupants of the vehicle reacted by yelling that they were being shot at and could be heard instructing one another to duck down inside the vehicle.” MPD detectives said that when they began speaking with Pando, he admitted to following the Ford from the area of Ranch Avenue toward Elkins Road and eventually toward Loop 250. “Pando claimed he was attempting to obtain the vehicle’s license plate because of recent burglaries in the neighborhood,” said detectives in the affidavit. Additionally, Pando showed detectives a video he had recorded on his cellphone during the pursuit of the Ford. When detectives asked Pando about the vehicle he had been driving, he stated that he was operating a 2022 GMC pickup truck. Detectives stated that Pando told them he followed the Ford from the 2600 block of Ranch Avenue through the Occidental area, past Elkins Road, back onto Elkins Road and ultimately toward Loop 250, where the pursuit ended. Pando also told detectives that immediately before the crash, he cut in front of the Ford near the Loop 250 north service road. Police records noted that the original, unedited video that detectives obtained from Pando’s cellphone showed him following directly behind the Ford while traveling at speeds reaching 115 mph. Last week, the Reporter-Telegram requested a copy of the video from city officials. Pando’s bond was set at $2 million. MPD identified the driver of the Ford as James Baker, 18, of Midland. Baker was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision. The name of the second person who died has not been released. It was not immediately clear whether Pando had an attorney who could comment on the charge.