2025-08-29
Bushland man pleads guilty to mother’s murder
AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - A 27-year-old man responsible for the death of his mother accepted a plea bargain.
Tristan Roland appeared in 181st District Court before the Honorable Judge Tatiana Frausto at 9 a.m. for his sentencing.
The plea comes a short six months after his arrest on February 1.
On that date, deputies with Randall County Sheriff’s Office were sent to West County Road 34 on a report of a stabbing.
Upon arrival, deputies found 49-year-old Tiffany Randle dead from multiple stab wounds.
Roland ran away but was thought to be nearby.
Texas DPS troopers, RCSO deputies and several other agencies searched the area with help from drones.
Roland was found and arrested within an hour.
He was questioned by investigators and booked into the Randall County Detention Center on a charge of murder and aggravated assault against a public servant.
The Randall County Sheriff’s Office said the assault charge was a warrant from a previous encounter with law enforcement in Lubbock.
Roland’s bond was set at $1.75 million.
He was indicted for murder on April 30.
Prior to the death of Randle, court records show Roland to have a nuanced history of mental illness and physical violence.
In September 2016, Roland was charged with aggravated assault against a public servant, a first-degree felony.
The court adjudged Roland as mentally incompetent in early 2017 and committed him to the state hospital in Vernon, Texas.
Roland was transferred back to Randall County in late January 2024. He was released to his mother, Randle, following a bond reduction.
One short year later, the son would stab his mother to death as she attempted to contain him during a psychiatric episode on a lonely country road in Bushland.
Nearly seven months later, Roland waived his right to a jury trial and entered a plea of guilty in return for 50 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Institutional Division.
Tiffany Randle was a well-known PA for Amarillo Diagnostic Clinic and was a beloved member of the medical community.
Her obituary is a moving testimony to her “legacy of love, compassion, and boundless enthusiasm for life”.
Roland is included in the list of surviving relatives.
A scholarship fund for her grandson, Tylan Kash Roland, is set up at Amarillo National Bank.
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