Court documents have offered additional information and clarity about a Wednesday night shooting that led to the arrest of Juan Escarcega-Hernandez.
Escarcega-Hernandez, 29, is accused of opening fire on a vehicle in which his girlfriend was a passenger, sending her ducking for cover.
He was booked into jail on suspicion of two counts of attempted first-degree assault; two counts of felony menacing; two counts of non-injury child abuse and one count each of reckless endangerment and prohibited use of a weapon, with a sentencing enhancement of domestic violence, if formally charged and convicted.
Formal charges are pending. He remained in custody Friday afternoon, in lieu of a $60,000 bond.
Escarcega-Hernandez’s affidavit alleges he admitted to opening fire in the direction of a vehicle that approached his house and claimed “they would not stop while approaching him in his driveway” and that he was “happy” the vehicle took off because he had run out of bullets. He later allegedly admitted to running back into his home to find another loaded gun and to running after the vehicle, a Ford truck.
The truck’s driver told police of having to take evasive measures when Escarcega-Hernandez pulled his own vehicle in front of him and began shooting, the affidavit also says.
The incident began with a call for a check of welfare on “unattended” children at a home in the 66000 block of LaPlaza Road; that call stated the children’s mother was not home when the caller, apparently Escarcega-Hernandez, arrived at the house.
Within seconds of receiving that call, police received a civil standby request so “a female could retrieve her children from the house.” That call log indicated the woman was in a vehicle about half a mile away and the children, along with the woman’s boyfriend — later identified as Escarcega-Hernandez — were in the home.
“While dispatch was attempting to relay additional information, a report of shots fired from the house was aired,” the affidavit states.
Police officers raced to the scene, staging nearby, then approached the home on foot. When ordered, a man in the home came out, unarmed.
Police identified him as Escarcega-Hernandez. According to the affidavit, he called police because the kids were left alone in the home. He reported his girlfriend of four years had departed earlier, then walked back on foot.
“He explained he was the source of the gunfire and said ‘I did,’” when questioned, Montrose Police Officer Jordan Hewitt wrote in the document.
“Juan said there was a vehicle approaching him. I asked if the vehicle began shooting at him and he said they did not. He said he told them to back up and they did not, so he shot into the ground,” the officer wrote.
The vehicle, which he described as a Ford truck, took off, Escarcega-Hernandez said. He reportedly said he shot into the ground because it kept coming.
“Juan explained the occupants of the vehicle did not threaten him verbally or produce any weapons. Juan said the occupants pressed the throttle of the vehicle and then departed after he began shooting,” Hewitt wrote.
Escarcega-Hernandez said he then called police. He continued speaking with them after being advised of his rights, telling them he was pulling into his driveway when the truck pulled in behind him.
According to the affidavit, he said that he immediately pulled his gun and that he “always” open-carried. He then told officers repeatedly that he hadn’t known the woman was missing from the house, Hewitt wrote.
“Let it be known, Juan initially told dispatch (woman) departed in a white Ford truck, matching the description of the vehicle Juan shot at,” he also wrote.
Escarcega-Hernandez reportedly said that he texted and called the woman to see if she had been in the truck.
Officers located seven .40 caliber shell casings on the ground, about 40 yards from the entrance to Escarcega-Hernandez’s driveway, as well as one unfired hollow point .40 caliber bullet in the road, the affidavit says.
The woman reported she had been trying to get her kids out of the home at about 10 Wednesday evening, but that she was outside the home and when Escarcega-Hernandez saw she wasn’t inside, he started shooting.
It is not clear from the affidavit how the woman eventually came to be riding in the truck.
Police found the vehicle riddled with bullet holes. The man driving it told them he was driving with the woman in her neighborhood and pulled up close to the LaPlaza Road home so she could get inside. He alleged that Escarcega-Hernandez pulled up in front of him, aggressively braking and causing him to swerve.
“(Woman) told (driver) the vehicle was Juan’s and that they needed to leave immediately,” Hewitt wrote in the affidavit.
As they continued driving, he heard “five or six” gunshots and bullets striking his truck; the gunfire was “extremely loud” because the woman’s window was down.
She began screaming and jumped toward the center of the front seat to avoid being shot, the affidavit says.
Escarcega-Hernandez, when questioned further, admitted to firing his gun as he chased the Ford down the street because he wanted to “scare” the people inside, the affidavit alleges. “Juan admitted to running out of ammunition while shooting at the truck and stated he ran back in the house to find another gun with more ammunition,” Hewitt wrote.
Police located a .40 caliber Beretta semi-automatic inside the drawer of a table near the children’s room.
Formal charges are due to be filed April 29 and a bond hearing has been set for that date, as well.
Escarcega-Hernandez is also set for a hearing on an extreme risk protection order April 30.
Katharhynn Heidelberg is the Montrose Daily Press assistant editor and senior writer. Follow her on Twitter, @kathMDP.
April 25, 2021 at 02:00AM
https://www.montrosepress.com/news/affidavit-bullets-send-woman-ducking-for-cover/article_85f6bed0-a485-11eb-807f-3b2904e396b5.html
Affidavit: Bullets send woman ducking for cover | Local News Stories | montrosepress.com - Montrose Daily Press
https://news.google.com/search?q=Send&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
No comments:
Post a Comment