Second Young Park trial ends in murder convictions

LAS CRUCES — In a verdict District Attorney Fernando Macias called “incredibly fast,” a jury found Nathan Rivas, 18, guilty on three counts of first-degree murder Wednesday after deliberating over lunch for less than an hour and a half.

The verdict came so quickly, some of those attending the trial did not make it back to the courtroom in time to hear state District Judge Douglas Driggers read aloud the verdicts in a hushed courtroom before sobs emerged among family members and supporters of Rivas.

It was the second murder trial following the March 2025 shootout in Young Park that killed three teenagers and wounded 14 people.

Last week, Rivas’ 21-year-old brother, Tomas Rivas, was convicted of three counts of murder as well, leaving two defendants — Josiah Ontiveros, 16, and Gustavo Dominguez, 18 — awaiting their days in court. All four have been in custody since their arrests last March.

The jury held Nathan Rivas culpable in the deaths of Dominick Estrada, 19, Andrew “AJ” Madrid, 16, and Jason Gomez, 17 on March 21 during an informal car meetup in the parking area of a large, popular city park in the middle of the city. Prosecutors and witnesses said the four defendants carried out a plan to kill Estrada, touching off a gunfight in a crowd of more than 100 people in which bystanders were hurt.

Estrada moved behind a tree in the parking lot and returned fire, as did others, and was struck several times before he was killed with a shot to the head. Gomez and Madrid had no identified connection to the conflict, yet died of gunshot wounds.

Nathan Rivas was charged with first-degree “depraved mind” murder — killing a human being “by any act greatly dangerous to the lives of others, indicating a depraved mind regardless of human life” under New Mexico law. Rivas, who emptied a 13-round magazine from his firearm during the battle, could be convicted for all three murders even if he had not killed the three victims, provided the jury found he had participated in, encouraged and assisted in Estrada’s murder.

Prosecutors presented evidence that the younger Rivas had driven the four defendants to and from the park that night, participated in the shooting, repeatedly gave false statements to police officers and attempted to hide evidence. By shooting into a crowd of people with a reckless disregard for human life, prosecutor Spencer Willson said Rivas demonstrated the “textbook definition” of depraved-mind murder.

Defense attorney Mark Earnest sought to separate Rivas from the other defendants’ actions, arguing that whether there had been a plan to kill Estrada, a scuffle that immediately preceded the shooting involving Dominguez and a relative of Estrada changed the situation, leading the remaining two defendants to fire their weapons.

Earnest said the younger Rivas backed away from the situation. He attributed the defendant's false statements, and his participation in an “amateur” alibi attempt by driving to El Paso, to a combination of fear and poor decision-making. Rivas was 17 at the time of the shooting.

“Nathan has separated himself from the fold,” Earnest said to the jury. “He wasn’t a part of this. He had no control of this.”

Nathan Rivas, who attended the trial in chinos and a buttoned-up collared shirt, did not testify in his own defense.

Earnest also raised questions about some witness testimony as well as unanswered questions about bullet casings found west of the parking lot that had not been matched to a known weapon or shooter.

The jury had the option of convicting Rivas of second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter, but returned all three convictions for first-degree murder.

Speaking to reporters immediately following the verdict, Macias expressed confidence that the state had ample evidence to obtain verdicts against Ontiveros and Dominguez when they stand trial in April and July, respectively. He praised police and FBI investigators for an unusually complicated local investigation and addressed the speed with which jurors decided the case.

“The level of evidence and the understanding, especially, that the actions of one defendant applies to the actions of the others — I think that that instruction, that understanding, is what contributed to the jury being able to arrive at a very quick verdict,” Macias said.

The Journal was unable to reach Earnest immediately after the trial. Rivas remains in custody as he awaits a sentencing hearing. 

Algernon D’Ammassa is the Journal’s southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.