Juveniles in deadly Las Cruces mass shooting appear in court

Update: ABC-7 sat in as the only broadcast media inside the courtroom for the detention hearings of the three juveniles arrested for the Young Park mass shooting.

Judge Grace Duran ordered that Gustavo Dominguez, 17, Nathan Rivas, 17, and Josiah Ontiveros, 15, remain in custody at the Doña Ana County Detention Center, instead of being released home with supervision, as each poses a risk to the community.

Duran said she "cannot ignore the loss of life and cannot ignore that there could be more."

Representatives from each suspect's probation offices all recommended that they do not get released.

Each suspect walked into the courtroom handcuffed and emotionless. 

In the partially-closed hearing, Las Cruces Police Department detectives testified that drone footage showed 15 to 200 people were at the car meet.

LCPD detectives Andrew Contreras and Rene Molenda spoke about the injuries and amount of times victims were shot:

• Dominick Estrada was shot 4 times.
• Jason Gomez was shot 1 time.
• Andrew Madrid was shot 2 times.
• Ignacio Martinez Sr. was shot 6 times.

Martinez Sr. is a samaritan that aided Estrada.

Dominguez allegedly shot victim Estrada, and ran over to shoot him one more time.

A man named Ruben Morales who allegedly put Dominguez in a chokehold, was shot 11 times.

One woman in the court room would cry every time there was a mention of Estrada being fatally shot. 

Other family members were in tears hearing details of the shooting.

The detectives say the Rivas brothers fled to El Paso. 

District Attorney Fernando Macias told us he's satisfied with Tuesday's hearing, this being a "first major step of this case."

"Very satisfied. Being able to have an opportunity to show a judge the severity of the charges, the severity of the consequences, and the severity of the role that all three had related to the three deaths and the 15 other individuals that were injured," said Macias

Dominguez' attorney Herman Ortiz says he's innocent and never touched a gun, but talks about the right to self defense.

He claims his client doesn't know any of the victims. 

"My client doesn't even know these folks, has never met them, doesn't know their names, doesn't even know what they look like," said Ortiz. "He just happened to be there with, you know, and knows the Rivas brothers, but he was not involved in anything having to do with the altercation. He just approached where they were at because he saw they were arguing."

Update: DA Macias is requesting that all juvenile defendants be kept in custody pending legal proceedings.

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Update: ABC-7 confirmed in court the names of the juveniles charged in the shooting. Our news partners KOAT confirmed through court documents the new and prior charges of the juvenile defendants. The District Attorney is trying to invoke adult charges against these defendants.

Nathan Giovani Rivas

• Count 1 first degree murder for Dominick Estrada.
• Count 2 first degree murder for Andrew Madrid.
• Count 3 first degree murder for Jason Gomez.
• Count 4 Conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
• Count 5 conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
• Count 6 Conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
• Prior criminal offense:
  • 1 charge for sexual penetration (child under 13) marked "refer to CCA."
  • 3 dismissed sexual pentation charges (child under 13).
  • 1 nolle prosequi charge for battery on household member
  • 1 charge for dismissed assault (attempted battery) (household member).
  • 1 charge for public affray being ‘handled informally.’
  • 1 charge for runway being ‘handled informally.”
  • 1 dismissed charge for criminal damage to property referred to CCA after information disposition.

Josiah D. Ontiveros

• Count 1 first degree murder.
• Count 2 first degree murder.
• Count 3 first degree murder.
• Count 4 Conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
• Count 5 conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
• Count 6 Conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
• Prior criminal offense:
  • 1 charge for public affray charged being ‘handled informally.’

Gustavo Dominguez-Puga

• Count 1 first degree murder for Dominick Estrada.
• Count 2 first degree murder for Andrew Madrid.
• Count 3 first degree murder for Jason Gomez.
• Count 4 Conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
• Count 5 conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
• Count 6 Conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
• Prior criminal offenses:
  • 1 dismissed charge for aggravated assault
  • 1 dismissed charge for tampering with evidence

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LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KVIA) — The three juveniles arrested in connection with Friday’s deadly mass shooting in Las Cruces are set to make their first court appearances today.  

According to New Mexico law, juveniles must appear before a judge within 48 hours of being detained. The hearings will determine whether the suspects remain in custody or will be released under certain conditions.  

The suspects face three counts of first-degree murder, and Doña Ana County District Attorney Fernando Macias told ABC-7 his office also plans to add conspiracy to commit murder charges. “There could be other charges that are added on depending on the outcome of the injuries that other victims suffered,” he added. 

The DA’s office also intends to seek adult sanctions for the suspects. “This was not accidental. This was perpetrated, intentionally. So it it is our belief that in order to be able to address this epidemic of, firearms use by juveniles, that we have to be the most serious that we possibly can in order to impose the most significant sanctions if these individuals are found guilty of having committed these crimes,” he explained.

Macias also emphasized he does not want to be in a similar situation to the Walmart shooting, “where years after the incident, there still isn’t a conclusion at a local level,” he said. “So do I believe that the matter could be tried within a year's period of time? Absolutely. In situations like this, in order to maintain the confidence of the community, the justice has to be thorough, but it has to be swift."  

Two 17-year-olds and a 15 year-old were arrested in connection to the shooting. They are currently being held at the juvenile section of the Doña Ana County Detention Center.

Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story is also expected to provide additional updates on the shooting during a news conference scheduled for 11:30 a.m. today. This will be the second time Chief Story has addressed the public since the shooting.  

ABC-7 will provide live updates from the court hearings and the police press conference throughout the day.