Jose Gilberto Rodriguez
© Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle
Suspected serial killer Jose Gilberto Rodriguez was the ideal tenant at a Fifth Ward transitional living complex, his landlord said, describing him as nice, neat and quiet and someone she would rent to again.

The parolee never missed a payment in the four months he was at Vincent Apartments Transitional Living, said Theresa Williams, who owns and manages the apartment complex in the 2400 block of Pannell Street.

"I think he did not do this, and I hope and am praying for that," Williams said Tuesday afternoon, hours after Rodriguez was arrested in the shooting deaths of three Houston area residents.

Williams said her last encounter with 46-year-old Rodriguez was sometime last week. She spotted Rodriguez as he was leaving the complex with two hampers. She said he told her he was off to do laundry, and she lovingly warned him not to get into trouble.

"Don't worry, Mama T," she recalled Rodriguez saying. "I'm never gonna leave you."

Police recently came to the property looking for Rodriguez before he was apprehended, Williams said, but she hasn't received any information from investigators since.

Williams described Rodriguez as a "workaholic," who, within the last month, was offered a pay promotion at Tyson Foods, Inc., where he worked.

His employer has not yet been reached for comment.

Williams said Rodriguez had a camaraderie with his fellow tenants, although he typically kept to himself. She said he would play chess with the other men, play with Williams' bulldog, Duke, and sit outside watching traffic pass through the street.

He had one close friend there, Williams said.

Williams' cousin, Trina Spencer, works as an assistant at the transitional living complex. She said Rodriguez "was always willing to help" and assisted with chores and maintenance work on the property that included fixing phones and computers, mowing the lawn and painting the house.

"He was on the right track, but something happened," Spencer said.

Both women voiced feelings that the men coming to the apartments from jail to turn their lives around are their family. Williams repeatedly referred to the tenants as "her guys." Spencer said she is grieving.

"He had help all around him," Spencer said. "There's no excuse for what he did."

Spencer and Williams both expressed sadness about the lives lost. Each said she is praying for their loved ones.

"My heart goes out to the families," Williams said.