Clovis man charged with manslaughter

CLOVIS — A Clovis man was arrested Wednesday in connection with a Tuesday night shooting that left a 17-year-old dead.

Theodore Avalos, 21, was in the Curry County Adult Detention Center with no bond this weekend on charges of involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence and two counts each of giving alcoholic beverages to a minor and negligent use of a deadly weapon. He’s accused in connection with the death of Malik Martinez-Daniels of Clovis.

Avalos made his first appearance Friday afternoon in Curry County Magistrate Court. He was released on a recognizance bond, with a preliminary examination scheduled for Dec. 5 in magistrate court. Avalos’ case was assigned to the public defender’s office, but no specific attorney was assigned the case in court records.

According to a criminal complaint filed Thursday in the magistrate court:

• At 8:02 p.m. Tuesday, police received a pair of 911 calls referencing a juvenile male who sustained a gunshot wound to his head in a residence on the 800 block of East Seventh Street. Officers arrived to find Martinez-Daniels, who was transported to Plains Regional Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.

• The East Seventh residence belongs to Avalos, who was not present when officers arrived on the scene. A person who was at the residence at the time of the shooting said Avalos had purchased a firearm that day, and he and Martinez-Daniels were cleaning it and posing for pictures with it. The witness referenced hearing a gunshot, then seeing Martinez-Daniels fall to the floor. The witness said Avalos left the residence with the gun.

• Avalos — referenced as a person of interest in a Tuesday evening CPD news release in which police asked for help in locating him — came to the police department Wednesday with a 9mm pistol that was wrapped in a plastic bag. He said he had purchased the pistol recently and fired the weapon in his back yard. That corresponded to reports the department had received Tuesday of shots fired in the area. He also said he had purchased alcoholic beverages from a nearby convenience store, and that two people who were at the house with him also had shots of the beverages.

• Avalos told police that when Martinez-Daniels came by later, he asked to fire the gun and Avalos rebuffed his request. Avalos said he was intoxicated, and the group was dancing and making videos. He told police he pulled back the slide of the firearm while the magazine was still in it, and he believed the gun was empty. He pointed the gun at Martinez-Daniels and expected to hear a click, but the gun went off and Martinez-Daniels fell to the ground.

• After Martinez-Daniels fell, Avalos said he searched for his cell phone to call 911, then began banging on a neighbor’s door for help. He said a family member showed up, and called 911 after realizing what had happened. Avalos said he panicked and hid the gun under a trash bin, but later retrieved it before spending the night in a hotel.