CLOVIS, N.M. – Four teenagers have been charged with murder for their connection with a fatal shooting that left a man dead in a parking lot. KCBD reported that police responded to a shots fired call late afternoon on Wednesday, November 13th, in the Hilltop Shopping Center on West 21st Street.
Upon arriving on scene, officers found 26-year-old Marcos Ramirez with a gunshot wound, lying in the roadway. He was transported to Plains Regional Medical Center where he later died. Ramirez was meeting the juvenile suspects to sell them a gun and investigators believe that one of the boys shot Ramirez.
Police said Ramirez was with another man when the incident became violent. That man told police that Ramirez exited his car and got into a black car occupied by the four teens. Investigators believe he was shot before being pushed out of the car onto the pavement.
Police said when Ramirez was pushed out onto the pavement, the other man began shooting at the suspects. Two of the boys, 16-year-old Jacob Garcia and 16-year-old Diego Corona, also suffered gunshot wounds and were transported to a nearby hospital to be treated for their injuries. Along with the two boys, 15-year-old Gustavo Herrera, Jr. and 16-year-old Jacob Lavato have been charged.
According to Eastern New Mexico News, the man who told police he shot at the boys was not immediately charged. District Attorney Quentin Ray said that the incident remains under investigation. Court records show that the violence began sometime before 4:45 p.m. when the boys met Ramirez in the parking lot outside Red Arrow Bingo. Ramirez and the other man were in a white Audi. Shortly after Ramirez got into the back car with the juveniles, “the car took off with Marcos inside.”
The man with Ramirez told police that he “panicked and got into the driver side of the white Audi car and followed the black car towards the Future Generations (business) area where it stopped.” The witness told police he saw someone “step out of the car, point a gun into a backseat, heard three shots and Marcos was then pushed out of the car onto the pavement.” The witness told police he began shooting in the direction of the boys. The boys “continued to shoot back towards him as he was checking on Marcos.”
Investigators were told the teenage boys had planned to rob Ramirez by paying him with fake bills. One of the boys told police he took a gun that belonged to another boy and threw it in a back yard in the 300 block of Kathie Street. The gun Ramirez was trying to sell remained in its case. At some point during the shooting, the car the juveniles were in crashed into a residence at Main and John Doe Streets.
Joshua Ramirez, Marcos’ cousin, issued a statement that read in part, “My prayers go out to all families involved in this unexpected and tragic situation. Marcos Fernandez Ramirez was an honorable United States Marine. He enlisted in 2016 right after graduating from Clovis High School. Just hearing his name brings a smile. Regardless of choices made … no one should have to feel this hurt or worry. I truly pray safety and guidance for all of the families.”