Las Cruces police say 19-year-old Esteban Muñoz helped plan an armed robbery that led to the death of a teenage woman

Organ Mountain News report

LAS CRUCES - A third suspect has been arrested in connection with the Sept. 4 shooting at Salopek Park that left a 19-year-old woman dead and another man injured, according to Las Cruces police and court filings.

Third suspect now charged

Police say Esteban Muñoz, 19, was taken into custody Wednesday and is charged with armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, both second-degree felonies. Investigators allege Muñoz played a role in a planned robbery that escalated into gunfire at the east Las Cruces park.

According to a criminal complaint filed Sept. 12 in Doña Ana County Magistrate Court, detectives believe Muñoz and others conspired with Julia Clark, 19, to lure two men to Salopek Park under the pretense of a social visit and then rob them of a firearm they had purchased earlier that day.

Fatal chain of events

Police and court records indicate the incident unfolded shortly before 4:30 p.m. Sept. 4 at 474 Salopek Boulevard, where officers responding to reports of gunfire found two people shot inside a red Jeep SUV.

Clark was airlifted to University Medical Center in El Paso, where she later died from a gunshot wound to the head. The male victim, identified in court records as Christopher Hernandez, was treated for a gunshot wound to his leg and survived.

According to investigators, witnesses reported seeing a second vehicle — a white Chrysler 300 — arrive at the park just before the shooting. Court documents state that multiple individuals exited the Chrysler armed with handguns and approached the Jeep before shots were exchanged.

Messages and evidence cited

Searches of Clark’s cellphone revealed messages exchanged with two people identified in court filings as Muñoz and Elijah Sambrano, 18, according to the criminal complaint. Detectives allege the messages detailed where to park, how to carry out the robbery, and what to do afterward.

Police say video and Snapchat messages show Muñoz holding a black semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine prior to the shooting.

Other arrests

Sambrano was arrested earlier and charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and tampering with evidence, according to Las Cruces police.
A third suspect, Apolinar Rosales, 18, faces charges of voluntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence, and resisting or obstructing.

According to prosecutors, both Sambrano and Rosales were allegedly involved in the gunfire exchange that led to Clark’s death.

Prosecutors seek to hold Muñoz

In an expedited motion for pretrial detention filed Thursday in Third Judicial District Court, prosecutors argued that no release conditions would protect public safety if Muñoz were freed before trial. The motion states that Muñoz was already on conditions of release in two pending cases — including one involving stolen firearms — when the Salopek shooting occurred.

Prosecutors allege his actions “contributed to the death of another person.” The court has not yet ruled on the detention request.

Ongoing investigation

Anyone with additional information about the shooting is asked to contact the Las Cruces Police Department at 575-526-0795.