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Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Friday, October 30, 2009
Las Vegas, N.M., Man Held in Shooting
By Vic Vela
Journal Staff Writer
A Las Vegas, N.M., man was arrested Thursday evening after he allegedly shot another man outside a bar there.
The victim, Jonas Montoya, was airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, according to police Chief Gary Gold. The chief said he did not know Montoya's condition — only that the victim was “still alive.”
Police arrested Gary Esquibel in connection with Montoya's shooting. Gold told the Journal about 8 p.m. that Esquibel was being questioned by police and he was not sure what charges would be filed against the suspect.
Details about the shooting were sketchy Thursday. Gold said Montoya suffered a single gunshot wound while he was frequenting Trujillo's Package Liquors, 820 Grand Ave., about 3:30 p.m. Gold said he did not know where exactly the shooting occurred or what sparked the confrontation.
The liquor store has a bar inside, where Montoya was hanging out just before he was shot, according to Gerald Baca, an employee there who did not witness the shooting. Baca said that Montoya “would come by the bar once in a while” and that he worked in the construction business.
Baca said that Montoya stepped outside to have a cigarette and that Montoya either was approached by someone who shot him or that a person called Montoya over to a vehicle and he was then shot. Baca said he heard that information from others; it had not been confirmed by police.
Gold said that Esquibel drove away from the area after the shooting.
Police were able to find Esquibel with the help of witness accounts, and he was arrested at a residence in town that evening.
Baca said he was surprised that something like this happened near his workplace.
“We had a robbery 20 or something years ago,” he said. “It's not like it happens all the time.”
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