Jury convicts Nathan Rivas of three counts of first degree murder in connection to Young Park mass shooting

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- A jury has found 18-year-old Nathan Giovani Rivas guilty of three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deadly mass shooting at Young Park that left three people dead and 15 others injured.

Rivas showed little reaction as the verdict was announced, sitting quietly at the defense table with his foot bouncing under the table.

Rivas is one of four people charged in the shooting. He and his older brother, Tomas Rivas, were each charged with three counts of first-degree murder with a depraved mind in connection with the deaths of Andrew Madrid, Jason Gomez and Dominick Estrada.

During closing arguments Wednesday, District Attorney Fernando Macias told jurors that Rivas fired into the crowd and acted together with his brother and two other defendants.

“This is an incredibly fast verdict, and I'm hoping that that will send the message throughout the community in terms of the strength of the case that the state is bringing against these four individuals,” Third Judicial District Attorney Fernando Macias said.

Macias called the short jury deliberation unusual, but not in a negative way.

“Certainly, it goes to the strength of the verdict, and it shows that they are focused and they focused on the first degree felony charge rather than any of the lesser included,” Macias said.

“I think that trials are always a little bit different," he added. "You can never take anything for granted. But now we're beginning to have a greater degree of confidence in the level of evidence that we're able to present,” he said.

Defense attorney Mark Earnest argued that Rivas was not responsible for every shot fired and urged jurors to find reasonable doubt about who caused the gunfire. Earnest declined an interview after the verdict was announced.

Two more suspects, Josiah Ontiveros and Gustavo Dominguez, will each have their own trial over the next few months. Each of them also faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Andrew Madrid, Jason Gomez and Dominick Estrada.