Manhunt Suspect To Face Federal Charge; Stolen Rifle Still Missing
New details are starting to trickle into our newsroom about the shooting of a fugitive on Thursday.
Fernando Lavenant, 19, was shot in the stomach after leading El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies on a nearly eight-hour manhunt Thursday.
It’s still unknown what exactly happened in the moments leading up to those shots being fired. ABC-7 has learned however, that Lavenant was taken to University Medical Center and, at last check, was in critical condition.
Friday afternoon, investigators were back on the scene of the shooting to interview neighbors and remove crime scene tape.
“It looked like the pictures you see from Juarez, the cops with their assault rifles,” said neighbor Javier Navarrate. “It’s different when it’s right here in your front yard.”
The manhunt for Lavenant began around 10:00 a.m. Thursday after a detective with the U.S. Marshal Lone Star Fugitive Task Force picked him up on warrants.
Investigators said Lavenant assaulted the detective and took off in his unmarked vehicle. Authorities said the suspect also stole two of the detective’s guns, a sheriff’s office radio and a bulletproof vest.
That was at Lavenant’s mother’s house on the 400 block of Rancho Estancias in Vinton. Investigators said he then ditched the SUV at a grocery store a few miles away in Anthony.
At that point, law enforcement swarmed the area around Canutillo High School and El Paso Community College’s Northwest campus nearby. They thought Lavenant might go to EPCC, where his girlfriend is a student.
Both campuses, as well as Canutillo Middle and several schools in the Gadsden School District were put on lockdown for hours.
The manhunt came to an end around 5:00 p.m. at a mobile home in Canutillo, where he was shot four times by a SWAT team, according to authorities.
Investigators said they located the suspect with the help of neighborhood tips. Neighbors told ABC-7 on Friday that they believed the mobile home to be abandoned.
Officials said one of the stolen weapons, a rifle, has yet to be recovered.
When Lavenant gets out of the hospital, investigators said he will be charged with state and federal charges.
That would be in addition to the warrants he already faces, including DWI with an Open Container, Aggravated Assault With a Deadly Weapon and Assault Causing Bodily Injury in El Paso, and Battery and Kidnapping in New Mexico.
Investigators said the detective who was assaulted suffered a serious back injury and a knee injury. Officials said he is expected to recover.
