Man shot dead in the chest in what’s described as a drug deal gone bad in far east El Paso; accused killer’s mugshot released

UPDATE 2/26/20: El Paso police released the mugshot of murder suspect Zachary Carter. A police affidavit also shows his arrest came after he asked a detention officer to call him an Uber ride.

ORIGINAL REPORT 2/22/20: EL PASO, Texas -- A 19-year-old El Paso man was shot in the chest and killed Friday night in a drug deal gone bad that was originally thought to be a drive-by shooting, police said.

The accused gunman was arrested a short time later and was being held on a murder charge, detectives said Saturday.

The drug deal that ended in the shooting death of 19-year-old Joseph Anthony Jimenez happened around 8:30 p.m. Friday at a home in the 2300 block of Birdsong on El Paso's far east side, according to investigators.

Jimenez was rushed from the shooting scene to a local hospital, where authorities said he died a short time later of a gunshot wound to the chest.

Police said the alleged shooter, 22-year-old Zachary Carter, crashed his car nearby while trying to flee the murder scene. He then fled on foot, but authorities said he was being tracked by Texas state troopers in a helicopter.

That helicopter followed Carter as he took a ride share to a home in the 1600 block of Robert Wynn on the east side, where police said they arrested him later Friday night.

Carter was being held Saturday in the downtown jail on a million-dollar bond.

Officers believe Carter initially fled the crime scene with two others, but authorities had not made any other arrests as of Saturday morning.