Affidavit: Suspect likely killed El Paso men with gun stolen during Las Cruces home invasion

The man accused of shooting an El Paso family on Thanksgiving Day, killing two members, may have used a gun stolen earlier that day during a home invasion in Las Cruces, according to court documents obtained by ABC-7.

Jason A. Gibson, 38, was arrested by U.S. Marshals officials in Daytona Beach, Florida on November 27, 2018. Gibson fled to Florida after allegedly shooting 58-year-old Juan Salas, 58-year-old Lorenza Salas and 24-year-old Johnathan Salas inside their home at 8324 Signal Peak in Northeast El Paso. Juan and Johnathan died. Lorenza remains hospitalized.

Lorenza told police officers she was cooking Thanksgiving dinner inside her home when Gibson suddenly entered through the back door and “demanded the keys to the vehicle” at gunpoint, the criminal complaint states.

Although Lorenza complied with Gibson’s demands, he still shot her in the face near her forehead and left eye area, the complaint states. After Lorenza screamed for help, Gibson walked into the living room area and shot Lorenza’s son Jonathan in the face, the court document states. Gibson then walked up to Juan Salas, who could not get up from the couch he was sitting in because of multiple ailments, and shot the man in he head, the criminal complaint states.

When police arrived, Lorenza and Johnathan were still alive. Juan was found dead at the scene. Johnathan was eventually taken off life support.

Police said no bullet casings were found at the scene of the deadly shooting. Gibson stole the family’s 2014 Nissan and drove away from the scene, police said. The stolen vehicle was “checked at the (Sierra Blanca) Border Patrol checkpoint,” about an hour after the deadly shooting in El Paso, the criminal complaints, adding “still photos (taken at the checkpoint) matched the defendant’s facial features.”

LAS CRUCES HOME INVASION

As El Paso Police investigated the murder Thanksgiving night, a Las Cruces Police detective called to report they were investigating a home invasion and aggravated kidnapping case.

The LCPD detective said an elderly man, identified in court documents as Ray Abbott, was attacked by a suspect at his residence in the 1300 block of Wolf Trail in Las Cruces earlier that day. As the suspect was ransacking Abbott’s residence, Abbott’s daughters arrived at the home. The suspect tased one of Abbott’s daughter, identified in court documents as Barbara Abbott, and bound her along with her father, the document states. The suspect allegedly forced the other daughter, identified as Sandra Abbott, to help him bound the victims.

The suspect, at gunpoint, demanded Sandra Abbott “drive him to a bigger city,” the Las Cruces Police detective said. Sandra Abbott told Las Cruces Police she dropped off the suspect in the Hercules/Dyer area of El Paso, near the scene of the Salas Family murders.

The description of the suspect’s clothing, as described by Sandra Abbott, matched the clothing description related to El Paso Police by Lorenza Salas, the court document states.

Las Cruces Police said the suspect who broke into Ray Abbott’s home in Las Cruces stole a .22 caliber revolver from Abbott’s home. The bullet recovered by medical examiner who performed Juan Salas’s autopsy “was consistent with a .22 caliber round,” the criminal complaint states.

The suspect allegedly changed clothes at Ray Abbott’s home and left behind a pair of pants with a note in one of the pockets. Fingerprints on the note led investigators to Jason A. Gibson, the court document states.

Gibson remains jailed in El Paso County on bonds totaling $2.6 million.