A Short Fight Leads to Murder in Ballinger, Texas

BALLINGER, Texas – Ballinger is a community of approximately 3,700 residents, and in this locale where everyone knows everyone, homicides aren’t a regular occurrence. However, today, Ballinger Police officials are investigating the first homicide in 12 years.

Mark McNulty, chief of Ballinger Police, said at about 1:40 a.m. Saturday morning, officers received a call for a fight and an unresponsive person in the 1500 block of North 8^th Street close to the elementary school.

Witnesses at the scene said 36-year-old Kenneth Sneed and Queandro Quarles, 34, got into an argument, which led to a short fight in the parking lot of the complex. Quarles beat the 36-year-old man to the point of unresponsiveness. McNulty said when officials got to the scene and found Sneed in this state, they called an ambulance and immediately began an investigation.

Emergency crews resuscitated Sneed at the scene and originally transported him to the hospital in Ballinger while officers remained behind to work the crime scene and get witness names and testimony.

“I arrived there shortly after, but then I went to the hospital,” said McNulty. “[Medical staff] were still working on the man. He had to be airlifted to San Angelo Shannon Medical Center where they continued working on him. At one o’clock Saturday afternoon, doctors [pronounced] him dead.”

McNulty added that Quarles was arrested that morning initially for aggravated assault and was transported to Runnels County Jail. After Sneed died, however, officials contacted Justice of the Peace Wood and asked for a murder arraignment. At this time, Quarles is being held with a $500,000 bond, and officials notified Sneed’s next of kin.

McNulty stated no weapons were used in the fight that they can determine thus far. Although he is not sharing more information about the incident at this time pending investigation, he did say that both men were drinking that night and this isn’t the first incident between the two men.

“They had fought about a week or week and a half before--just a little tussle. [It was] nothing serious that time. Our officers arrived and got them separated. It started up [again] Saturday morning,” McNulty added.