Police: Three arrested in May 14 homicide

Three suspects connected to the May 14 homicide in Clovis have been arrested, police said last week.

Those in police custody include one adult — 18-year-old Xavier Lucero — and two juveniles.

Lucero and one juvenile were located in Kern County in Bakersfield, Calif. “Both wanted individuals will be held in custody awaiting extradition back to New Mexico to face the charges related to this homicide,” Clovis police said in a news release.

Another juvenile was recently arrested locally in connection with the death of 16-year-old Ricardo Gonzales.

The release stated police are still searching for a 14-year-old boy wanted in connection with the case. He remained at large heading into the weekend.

Officials have said Lucero and three juveniles all face murder charges.

Assistant District Attorney Brian Stover said Friday the suspects arrested in California are awaiting extradition to New Mexico.

“I can't tell you when (they) will be back from California as the extradition process can take up to a month and maybe in as little as two weeks,” Stover said.

Gonzales died after multiple people opened fire on a vehicle in which he was a passenger, police have said. The driver of the car attempted to flee, but crashed into a utility pole. Officials said Gonzales died from injuries suffered in the crash.

According to a criminal complaint filed last week in Curry County Magistrate Court:

• Police responded to Plains Regional Medical Center just before midnight on May 14 in reference to a car crash victim and a related gunshot victim. A witness at the hospital said the car crash stemmed from an argument that started at a party on the 1200 block of Brady Street and continued at the railroad tracks on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

• The witness said two vehicles — a Dodge truck and a Mercedes sedan — were waiting for the train when a gray sedan pulled up behind both. Multiple people came out and started shooting at both vehicles. One subject was hit by gunfire, and another was injured in a crash as they attempted to flee. A search of the site resulted in the discovery of 31 shell casings from at least three different firearms.

• The driver of the Dodge truck, Miguel Reyes, was struck by a round, treated at University Medical Center in Lubbock for a shattered scapula and later released. The driver of the Mercedes, Daniel Rivera, fled the scene on a railway service road and crashed into a utility pole. Gonzales, a passenger in the Mercedes, later died at PRMC; he did not have any gunshot wounds.

• In subsequent interviews, Lucero and others were identified as shooters.

Officials have said it was not clear what started the argument, noting different witnesses have given different reasons and one or all of them may be true.

Clovis police are asking anyone with information about the case contact them at 575-769-1921 and request to speak with the Investigations/Special Operations Unit.