Third man charged in fatal Las Cruces park shooting

LAS CRUCES — A third man has been charged in connection with a gunfight at a city park that claimed the life of 19-year-old Julia Clark.

On Wednesday afternoon, Las Cruces police arrested Esteban Munoz, 19, on felony charges of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit an armed robbery.

A police affidavit offers more detail of an alleged robbery plot that went off the rails and ended in the exchange of gunfire that killed Clark and wounded Christopher Hernandez, 19, on a weekday afternoon at a small park in a residential neighborhood.

On Sept. 4, according to police, Clark parked her red Jeep at Salopek/Stull Park with two passengers: Hernandez and Apolinar Rosales Jr., 18. According to charging documents, interviews revealed that the three had been to Anthony, Texas, where Hernandez purchased a firearm. Returning to Las Cruces, they stopped at the park, supposedly for a smoke break.

A white Chrysler 300 then pulled in behind them.

An uninvolved witness told police that he observed an individual in black clothing in the park nearby, ahead of the encounter. Witnesses said the Chrysler blocked the Jeep as two masked men emerged with handguns, one of them instructing Hernandez “to give them everything he had.” He told police he tossed them the firearm he had just purchased.

Rosales told police he fell from the Jeep, was battered by passengers from the Chrysler, and drew his own weapon, firing at the adversaries. Rosales was subsequently indicted for involuntary manslaughter after allegedly shooting Clark in the head.

He also faces charges of tampering with evidence and unlawful possession of a handgun by a person under the age of 19. Rosales pleaded not guilty and is being held without bond ahead of his trial, which has not yet been scheduled.

Clark was flown to University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, in critical condition, and died on Sept. 6.

Hernandez was allegedly shot in the leg by Elijah Sambrano, 18, one of the men in the Chrysler. The Chrysler and its passengers quickly fled the scene, as did Rosales, police allege.

Sambrano was taken into custody six days after the altercation. He was subsequently indicted on felony charges of armed robbery, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, tampering with evidence and conspiracy to commit robbery. He was released from custody under a secured $5,000 bond and standard pretrial release conditions awaiting his trial. He has pleaded not guilty.

The affidavit reveals new information investigators obtained from Clark’s mobile phone, implicating Munoz in an alleged plot to stage the robbery at the park, with Clark receiving instructions from Sambrano on where to take her passengers. Police say Munoz was supposed to let Clark out of the vehicle and climb into the driver’s seat himself.

The narrative was established through text messages and Snapchat communications among Clark, Sambrano and Munoz, according to police.

Prosecutors filed a motion in state 3rd Judicial District Court on Thursday to detain Munoz through his trial, pointing to two pending criminal cases from earlier in the year alleging violent offenses, for which he was free under conditions of release. A detention hearing has not yet been scheduled and Munoz did not appear to have legal counsel in the matter on Thursday afternoon.