Tomas Rivas gets 3 consecutive life sentences for deadly Young Park shooting

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KVIA) -- Friday, Thomas Rivas received three consecutive life sentences for the deadly shooting that happened at Young Park in Las Cruces. He has 90 years before he's eligible for parole.

Three teenagers -- 16-year-old Andrew Madrid, 17-year-old Jason Gomez and 18-year-old Dominick Estrada -- died in the March 2025 shooting. More than a dozen other people were injured.

Rivas was found guilty under the theory of depraved mind murder on Feb. 16.

His younger brother, Nathan Rivas, has a sentencing scheduled for Oct. 9.

The next scheduled sentencing for those convicted in the Young Park shooting is Sept. 11 for Gustavo Dominguez. He was most recently found guilty on July 1.

Dominguez filed a motion requesting for a new trial, which is set for Sept. 2. If the motion is denied, his sentencing will take place as scheduled.

After the sentencing, both the prosecution and defense said they hope the outcome sends a clear message to young people in Las Cruces that gun violence is never the answer.

"It's something that people way smarter than I might need to figure out the whys of why this has happened over the years but it's a terrible thing," defense attorney Thomas Clark said.

Prosecutor Fernando Macias said the sentence shows there will be serious consequences for using firearms to harm others.

"We're communicating to the community that there are going to be extreme consequences for the use of firearms to harm other individuals," Macias said.

The defense had asked the court to allow Rivas to serve his sentences concurrently, which would have made him eligible for parole after 30 years.

"He would've been 52 years old when he became eligible for parole," Clark said.

Macias argued that such a sentence would not have been enough.

"A 30-year sentence, to me, would have been a slap in the face to the other two victims and to the families," he said.