LONGVIEW, Texas — The 87-year-old man accused of hiring someone to kill Longview businessman Ron Horaney in 2016 pleaded not guilty Friday morning.
During his arraignment, Reza Kamali, who was arrested this April for the May 30, 2016, murder of Horaney, entered a not guilty plea to capital murder.
Kamali was read the charge and indictment against him during the hearing in the 124th District Court. He told the judge he understood the accusations.
Judge Alfonso Charles then set the case for a status docket on Oct. 11.
Kamali is one of the three men accused in the Horaney murder case.
Alfredo Lizcano, 38, of Longview, also faces a capital murder charge because officials say he was hired by Kamali to murder Horaney. Arrests documents say Kamali hired Lizcano to kill Horaney because of a family dispute.
Horaney, who was 54 when he was killed, was gunned down in the doorway of his home on Tryon Road., on Monday, May 30, 2016.
Lizcano is set to be arraigned on Aug. 30 on a capital murder charge as well, court records show.
Rene Paul Garcia Jr., 26, who is currently in federal custody, is also a suspect in the case. He is the half-brother of Lizcano. Garcia is facing sentencing in federal court for unrelated drug charges in the Dallas area. The hearing is set for Sept. 10 in a courtroom inside the US Courthouse in Dallas.
The arrest warrant states an anonymous informant told investigators in June 2016, Kamali told them he wanted Horaney "killed up close and personal because of a family dispute." Kamali offered to pay a large sum of money for this person to murder Horaney. Later that same month, investigators saw Kamali meet with a man, who was later identified as Lizcano, at a Dallas fast food restaurant while performing surveillance on Kamali.
Investigators followed Lizcano's vehicle and he was stopped for a traffic violation. During that stop, Lizcano was identified as the person who met with Kamali. The front passenger was eventually identified as Lizcano's half-brother Garcia, the affidavit said.
On April 18, 2024, Garcia met with investigators to discuss what he knew about Lizcano's role in Horaney's murder. When shown a photo lineup that included a photo of Kamali, Garcia said, "that's the man that hired my brother," according to the document.
Lizcano lived in Longview around the time of Horaney's death. Lizcano told Garcia that he was going to do a job and murder someone. Lizcano sent Garica to pick up a box that the Garcia believed to be a payment for the murder, according to an interview detailed in the affidavit.
On the day of the murder, Lizcano admitted to Garcia that he killed Horaney. Garcia said he did a Google search of the murder when it happened, and a forensic examination of his phone showed that to be true, the affidavit explained.
Garcia said Lizcano had a revolver-type firearm before the murder, the document read.