Barricaded teen murder suspect held on $1M bond for El Paso shooting that killed Ft. Bliss soldier

EL PASO, Texas — A barricaded teenage murder suspect was arrested about an hour into a SWAT standoff over the weekend that followed a house party shooting in which a decorated Fort Bliss soldier was killed and four other people were wounded.

The suspect, identified in jail records as 17-year-old Joseph Anthony Rocha-Chaparro, emerged from a home in the 3400 block of McConnell in northeast El Paso around 9:30 p.m. Saturday and surrendered peacefully while using his cell phone to live stream his arrest on social media.

Jail booking records examined by ABC-7 on Sunday showed Rocha-Chaparro was being held in the downtown jail on $1 million bond on a murder charge.

In the social media video, Rocha-Chaparro can be heard saying “they’re raiding my crib right now, I’m going to jail… I’m going to do some time, they’re saying they got a warrant for my arrest,“ as he shows the view from his window of police gathered outside.

A copy of the video, which has since been removed, was obtained by ABC-7 on Sunday. In his Facebook profile, Rocha-Chaparro goes by the name Gtrill Shootah and his page contained multiple images of him posing with guns, which have now also been removed.

After his arrest, police continued to surround the home until about 11 p.m. Saturday out of concern that others might have also been inside, which turned out not to be the case. A police spokesman didn’t immediately know if Rocha-Chaparro was armed at the time of his arrest or if any weapons were found in the home.

The spokesman said tips developed by gang unit and crimes against persons investigators led authorities to the home, and indicated “the arrest was a result of the shootings“ of four people that happened around 2 a.m. Saturday at a house party in the 3800 block of Truman in central El Paso.

Investigators on Monday said the shootings stemmed from a fight that broke out at the party, with Rocha-Chaparro at one point pulling out a handgun and firing in different directions — with bullets from his gun striking the multiple victims.

Three men and a woman were rushed to hospitals, where 21-year-old Deangelo Meriweather later died in what police referred to as a “murder.“ U.S. Army officials on Monday said Meriweather was an information technology specialist stationed with the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Spc. Meriweather’s family for their loss due to this tragic event,“ said Lt. Col. Jason Carter, commander of the 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment.

Meriweather’s awards and decorations included the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Ribbon, Korea Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Rifle Marksmanship Badge.

Three wounded survivors were all listed in serious condition, but authorities said their injuries appeared to be non-life threatening. Police identified those victims on Monday as 21-year-old Asia Knight, 18-year-old Juan Mata, and 22-year-old Markendy Dessources.

Police said Monday that a fifth shooting victim, 19-year-old Kevin Marincuellar, later showed up at a hospital emergency room for treatment of a minor injury.

Residents told ABC-7 the neighborhood where the house party shootings occurred is usually a quiet area. That stretch of Truman was cordoned off as a crime scene for much of Saturday as police scoured it for possible evidence.