Records: Fight preceded shooting death

CLOVIS — A man accused in a Friday night shooting death in Clovis was apprehended Saturday evening in Amarillo, police said.

Steven Hogues, 34, of Albuquerque, is facing an open count of murder and felony possession of a firearm in the death of William Romero, 28, of Clovis.

Hogues on Monday morning was in the Randall County Detention Center on charges of failure to identify fugitive intent and a health and safety violation. Records also show he was being held for another law enforcement agency.

Court records released Monday show Hogues and Romero had been fighting prior to the shooting.

According to court documents:

• A call came into Clovis dispatchers around 10:20 p.m. Friday from a woman who said she heard a single gunshot in front of her residence. The caller later said she came outside to investigate the noise and found Romero’s wife, who said “Will” had been shot.

• The caller said Romero was lying face down with his arms to the site of the back door of a house on the 800 block of West Street. The caller initially found what she believed to be a slight pulse on Romero, but couldn’t find it again after an unsuccessful attempt to flip him over.

• Officers on the scene found a single .40 caliber casing and a large knife in the driveway leading up to the back door where Romero’s body was located.

• A witness to the shooting came to the residence and told an officer she knew the suspect to have the first name Steven with a street name of “Malicious.” The witness was taken to the police station, and provided a cell phone for the shooter. A database search resulted in a match for Hogues with a photo the witness confirmed to be the shooter.

• The witness said Hogues had been living in a modified garage on the property with two other people. A different interview revealed the two other people in the garage property were a caretaker for a person in the main residence and the caretaker’s boyfriend. The witness added that an argument occurred that day between Romero and Hogues over Hogues showing up with drugs.

• An interview with Romero’s wife indicated Hogues and another male had an argument in the main house, and Romero told the two to take the argument outside.

• Romero’s wife said a fight broke out in the backyard between Romero and Hogues, followed by Romero going back inside to grab a knife from the kitchen that he used to slash tires on Hogues’ vehicle. Hogues pulled a pistol from his vehicle, loaded it with a magazine that had fallen to the ground and shot Romero.

• The bullet was determined to have entered Romero through his left lower back and exited near his right upper chest.

No attorney is listed for Hogues.