Man charged over fatal shootout in Las Cruces park

LAS CRUCES — A deadly shootout in a city park Thursday has claimed the life of Julia Clark, 19, who was apparently caught in crossfire.

Apolinar Rosales Jr., 18, has been charged with voluntary manslaughter, a felony count of tampering with evidence and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer in the course of his arrest Saturday night.

Las Cruces police answered a call reporting two gunshot victims at Salopek/Stull Park at approximately 4:30 p.m. Thursday, according to charging documents, and found Clark in the driver’s seat of a Jeep SUV with a gunshot wound to her head. She was flown to University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, in critical condition and was pronounced dead around noon on Saturday. A 19-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to his leg and was transported to a local hospital with injuries police said were non-life-threatening.

Rosales is in custody and did not appear to have an attorney as of Monday afternoon.

A witness uninvolved with the conflict told police he observed a man dressed in black crouching nearby before a Chrysler sedan pulled into the parking lot. Two men exited each vehicle and approached each other “as if they were going to fight,” according to the witness, who said he saw the man in black rise and shoot his weapon.

Witness statements referred to in charging documents suggest the altercation may have been an attempted robbery, and a petition by prosecutors seeking to hold Rosales in custody through his trial suggests it might have been set up to take revenge over a prior grievance.

“It appears that this incident may have gang relation and may have been as the result of retaliation and therefore there is a concern that further retaliation could result,” the pretrial detention motion states.

To hold Rosales, prosecutors will have to persuade a district court judge that the defendant, who has no adult criminal history, is dangerous and that no conditions of release would protect public safety. Rosales made an initial court appearance Monday.

Police said bullet casings recovered from in front of the Jeep and the apparent trajectory of the round that struck Clark pointed to Rosales.

Rosales was allegedly a passenger in the Jeep and opened fire during the melee, striking Clark as he moved to the front of the Jeep to shoot at the men from the Chrysler. He then allegedly fled the scene on foot, while the man in black joined the other men in the Chrysler as it drove off. Police say Rosales admitted to disposing of the gun later.

Police have also filed a criminal complaint against Elijah Sambrano, 18, and obtained a warrant for his arrest, court records show.

The surviving victim told police he had been shot by a man named Elijah, and police located the vehicle, with a bullet hole in the driver’s side door, a mile and a half away from the park. Charging documents say police connected Sambrano with the vehicle and reached him by phone. During the conversation, he admitted to being involved in the shooting, stating, “They shot at us so we shot back.”

The complaint, filed Friday in Doña Ana County Magistrate Court, charges Sambrano with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and a felony count of tampering with evidence for refusing to turn himself in or submit his weapon for investigation. He remained at large Monday.