One young man and three teen boys are facing murder charges after a fatal shooting Friday night that has rocked Las Cruces.
Las Cruces police allege brothers Tomas Rivas, 20, and Nathan Rivas, 17, both of Las Cruces, and two other teen boys were responsible for a shootout that killed three people and wounded 15 Friday night at Young Park in the border city.
The shooting occurred just after 10 p.m. at what police called an “unauthorized car show” with about 200 people at the park off East Lohman Avenue.
Tomas Rivas faces three counts of first-degree murder in the shooting, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed against him. The police affidavit states his brother, Nathan Rivas, has been charged in the incident as well, although the details of those charges are not public. Las Cruces police said Sunday they had arrested and charged two other teen boys following the incident, but did not release their names Monday. All four of the suspects have been charged with murder, police said.
The three people killed in the shooting were 19-year-old Dominick Estrada, 18-year-old Jason Gomez and 16-year-old Andrew Madrid, according to a criminal complaint filed against Tomas Rivas. Fifteen other people were injured, ranging in ages from 16 to 36, Las Cruces police have said.
Seven of those injured were airlifted to El Paso for treatment, Las Cruces fire Chief Michael Daniels said in a news conference Saturday.
Several witnesses told police two groups of people at the park — one of which included the Rivas brothers — who began to argue Friday night, according to the affidavit.
After the groups began to argue, several witnesses saw “both groups produce firearms and start shooting at each other,” police wrote in the affidavit. The witnesses told officers they saw both of the Rivas brothers with guns shooting during the incident.
The first 911 call related to the shooting was placed just after 10 p.m. Friday, police wrote.
Investigators allege photos and videos show Nathan Rivas driving in a Mercedes away from the scene, with his brother and another boy. The three drove to an apartment about a mile south of the park, police alleged in the affidavit, and Nathan Rivas then placed a tan bag inside a dumpster on the side of the building.
Police searched the apartment and questioned its resident, who told them Tomas Rivas had arrived at his door at about 11 p.m. Friday appearing “panicked,” according to the affidavit. He told police the 20-year-old had arrived wearing a black, red and gray jacket, but that he was wearing only a black shirt when he took Tomas home a few hours later.
Officers found a black, red and gray sweater wrapped in a pillowcase in a trash can in the apartment, the affidavit alleges.
Officers alleged they recovered four black semi-automatic handguns from the apartment property. Dozens of shell casings recovered from the scene matched the 9mm, .40-caliber and .45-caliber guns found at the property, the affidavit says.
Over Saturday and Sunday, Tomas Rivas was booked into Doña Ana County jail and the three teens were booked into the juvenile detention center, police have said. The Rivas brothers were arrested at a mobile home community on a road called Mohican on the north side of the city.
Prosecutors requested Tomas Rivas be held pending trial, and a pre-trial detention hearing will be scheduled in the coming weeks. Prosecutors indicated in a court motion the case against Rivas will be taken to a grand jury.
Tomas Rivas has faced traffic violations in recent years, but he does not have a criminal history in New Mexico, according to an online court records database. Public records indicate he has lived in Las Cruces for years.
Las Cruces police Chief Jeremy Story addressed reporters during a news conference Saturday, saying as the mass shooting gained national attention, some rumors and misinformation related to the incident had flooded social media sites.
Several photos circulated on Facebook showing a young man holding an AR-15, supposedly at Young Park the same evening of the shooting.
Story said officers had interviewed the man and did not believe he was involved in the shooting, saying, “although it’s obviously a problem that he’s out there with an AR-15 in his hands.”
Investigators swept Young Park for evidence Friday night and much of the day Saturday, he said, and only shell casings for handguns were found at the park.
Las Cruces police also warned of scam online fundraisers purporting to benefit victims’ families. The agency said in a statement it had identified “several” fake GoFundMe fundraisers, warning the public to vet such sites before donating.
Several vigils were held for the victims of the shooting Sunday, after the park reopened to the public.
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