Two Teens Arrested for Covering Up a Friend's Drowning Death at Texas Lake

A Night at the Lake Ends in Tragedy — and Alleged Deception

Daniel Erving was an honor roll student and Sachse High School senior who, on the afternoon of April 13, 2026, drove with two friends to a railroad bridge spanning Lake Ray Hubbard near Rowlett, Texas, with plans to swim and hang out. He never came home. Erving drowned, and his body was recovered days later, on April 17. Now, nearly three months after that devastating day, the two young men who were with him have been arrested — not for causing his death, but for what investigators say they did immediately after it.

Lucas Roper, 19, and a juvenile suspect are each charged with tampering with physical evidence, a third-degree felony, police said on July 14. The arrests came after the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Daniel Erving's death an accidental drowning. But the circumstances surrounding what the two allegedly did in the moments following his death have left his family, and the public, with deeply troubling questions.

A Panicked Cover-Up Caught on Evidence

Investigators allege the three jumped into the water from a railroad bridge near the 6300 block of Miller Road, where Erving drowned. Instead of calling 911, Roper and the juvenile discarded Erving's clothing, deleted messages from his cellphone, threw the phone from a moving vehicle, and left the scene. Erving's phone and clothes were later recovered as the investigation got underway.

During a voluntary interview with detectives, Roper allegedly admitted he "panicked" after Erving drowned and that he and the juvenile fled the scene. Roper also admitted deleting all communications with Erving from his cellphone because he "was aware that there would be an investigation into Daniel Erving's death and he did not want to get into trouble." Detectives later examined Roper's cellphone and confirmed those communications had been deleted. Roper was granted a $10,000 bond.

A Family Demanding More Than Partial Justice

Tameka Erving, joined by their attorney Ben Crump, said during a press conference on July 14 that her son received "partial justice" after the arrests of the 19-year-old and the 17-year-old. At the press conference, Tameka Erving asked, "A reasonable-minded person would know, if you are not guilty of a crime, why would you throw away his clothes and delete messages and not even call his mother?" The family is not satisfied with evidence-tampering charges alone.

The family's attorney, Sean Daredia, pointed directly to Erving's athletic background as a reason to doubt the suspects' claims. "Daniel Erving was an honor roll student. He was a member of his swim team. He was a strong, healthy young athlete," Daredia said. "For these two suspects to say he drowned and they just left, it doesn't add up; something smells off to us."

Investigation Ongoing, Pressure Mounting

The family's legal team called upon the Dallas County District Attorney's Office to "follow the evidence wherever it leads," stating that "if the evidence supports additional charges, then those charges should be pursued. Justice demands nothing less." A spokesperson for the Rowlett Police Department confirmed that the Dallas Police Department is the "lead agency investigating this case, as Daniel's death occurred within the City of Dallas."

The family's legal team noted that "this investigation remains ongoing" and that "additional charges may still be forthcoming as investigators continue their work." Erving's family has also criticized what they describe as a months-long delay between the teen's death and the arrests, and they continue to question why so much time allegedly passed before law enforcement was notified after he disappeared and why no one immediately returned to notify his family that an emergency had occurred. Whether the evidence ultimately points to something beyond an accident remains an open — and agonizing — question for everyone who knew Daniel Erving.