sa国际传媒官网网页入口

LAS CRUCES 鈥� A jury on Wednesday found a third Young Park shooting defendant guilty on three counts of first-degree murder.

In the previous trials of brothers Tomas and Nathan Rivas, ages 21 and 18, jurors returned guilty verdicts swiftly. This time, however, deliberations carried on for eight hours from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Josiah Ontiveros, 16, was the youngest of the four charged in the March 21, 2025, shootout at a city park during an informal car meet. A crowd of more than 100 was present, watching cars spin and burn their tires in the parking lot before gunfire erupted.

In the aftermath, three teenagers were killed: Dominick Estrada, 19, Andrew 鈥淎J鈥� Madrid, 16, and Jason Gomez, 17; and at least 14 others were wounded, including friends and relatives of Estrada, some of whom gave witness testimony and displayed wounds they received that night.

Prosecutors said Ontiveros and his three accomplices went to the park armed with a plan to 鈥済et Dom,鈥� meaning Estrada, according to witnesses. A brief confrontation took place, the details of which remain under dispute, leading to a hail of bullets. Madrid and Gomez were bystanders at the event.

More than 60 spent shell casings were recovered by investigators, though not all of them were matched to firearms recovered by police.

Ontiveros, who took the witness stand on Monday, testified that he went to the park armed but fired only in self-defense after Estrada shot at him, fearing for his life in the middle of chaos. His defense attorney, Marie Legrand Miller, told the jury Ontiveros was a 鈥渇ollower,鈥� 15 years old at the time and the youngest member of the group, who accepted responsibility for possessing a gun while underage and firing his weapon, but was not culpable in the fatalities.

Prosecutors showed still images from videos captured by mobile phones purportedly showing Ontiveros firing the fatal round into Estrada鈥檚 head while the victim was lying on the ground. The defendant also declined to say where his gun was located, saying he felt the disclosure might expose his family to harm.

Like previous defendants Tomas and Nathan Rivas, Ontiveros was convicted on three counts of first-degree 鈥溾�� murder for participating in killing a human being 鈥渂y any act greatly dangerous to the lives of others, indicating a depraved mind regardless of human life.鈥�

Since he was not convicted of willful and deliberate murder, Ontiveros was acquitted of an additional conspiracy charge, which does not apply to depraved-mind murder.

The Rivas brothers鈥� trials took place in February. The fourth and final defendant, 18-year-old Gustavo Dominguez, is set for trial in July.

District Attorney Fernando Macias welcomed the verdict and said, based on voluntary interviews with some jurors after the trial鈥檚 conclusion, that the extended deliberations centered on distinguishing between willful and deliberate and depraved-mind murder. Jurors also had the options of convicting Ontiveros of second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter.

鈥淓very trial is going to be different. Every jury is different,鈥� Macias told reporters. Although the jury in this case took longer to reach its conclusion, he said, 鈥淚 am just as pleased and feel that there has been vindication for the victims, especially Dominick Estrada, because I don鈥檛 think there was any doubt that Josiah Ontiveros is the individual that shot the bullet that went into his head, killing him.鈥�

鈥淲e respect the jury process,鈥� Legrand Miller told the Journal after trial, and confirmed that Ontiveros plans to appeal the conviction.

Ontiveros faces up to life in prison and his sentencing will take place at a later date. He will continue to be held without bond.

All four defendants have been in custody since March of last year.

Rivas challenging conviction

Tomas Rivas is scheduled to be back in court Friday, when state District Judge Douglas Driggers, who is presiding over the Young Park trials, will hear two defense motions.

Rivas is seeking dismissal of his case or a new trial, alleging prosecutors did not disclose evidence from an investigation into casings recovered from around the park bathrooms, which Rivas said could indicate another location from which shots were fired and was potentially crucial to his defense. The motion also alleges a detective gave false testimony about that investigation.

Separately, Rivas filed a motion for an evidentiary hearing and possible mistrial over claims of improper text messages between a juror and nonjuror.

Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.