Grand jury indicts four in Las Cruces shooting

LAS CRUCES — A grand jury on Tuesday indicted four accused gunmen in the fatal March 21 shooting in Young Park.

The four defendants were arrested by Las Cruces police within 36 hours of the shooting that killed three teenagers and wounded 15 other people during a car meetup at a popular city park. Tomas Rivas, 20; Nathan Rivas, 17; Gustavo Dominguez, 17; and Josiah Ontiveros, 15, have remained in custody since. District Attorney Fernando Macias had previously stated the juveniles would likely be tried as adults.

Each of the four was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy to commit murder. They are set for arraignment in 3rd Judicial District Court on Monday.

The shooting was the city’s worst mass-casualty event since 1990, claiming the lives of Dominick Estrada, 19; Andrew “AJ” Madrid, 16; and Jason Gomez, 17.

At approximately 10 p.m. on a Friday night, a crowd of around 200 people was at an unsanctioned car show in the parking lot of Young Park when witnesses said a dispute between two groups of people erupted in gunfire. Fifteen people were wounded by gunfire or shrapnel as the crowd took cover or fled in all directions and the shooters left the scene. At least one of the deceased was reportedly shot at point-blank range as he lay on the ground, according to a search warrant.

The shooting and subsequent hunt for suspects occurred in the final hours of New Mexico’s legislative session in Santa Fe, where Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham lashed out at lawmakers for failing to take up measures she had supported stiffening criminal penalties and addressing juvenile crime.

“They promised a lot more in this session on public safety,” Lujan Grisham said of the Legislature in a news conference capping the session. “The longer we wait, the more victims we have.”

The governor is expected to bring lawmakers back to the Roundhouse for a special session focusing on crime and public safety.

Family, friends and community members mourn the loss of three killed in shootout at park in Las Cruces