New suspects named in the drive-by shooting of a 12-year-old girl
More suspects have been named in the November 2 drive-by shooting of a 12-year-old girl in the north side of Abilene. The suspect number now totals five, and all of them are behind bars awaiting trial in connection with the drive-by shooting.
More: Child injured by gunshot in north Abilene, three suspects detained.
Five suspects all 17 years old and younger
On the night of the alleged shooting, according to court documents, Elmer Rodriguez Jr. and an unnamed juvenile were apprehended shortly after the police began their investigation. Rodriguez, 17, has been charged with aggravated assault in the second degree. According to the Abilene Police Department, the “information pertaining to the juveniles in this incident is protected under the Family Code Sec. 58. 008.”
Nicholas Baker was apprehended the morning of Nov. 3 and has been charged with aggravated assault. According to court documents, Baker admits being present at the time of the alleged shooting, but "denied having fired a weapon."
Both Rodriguez, Baker, and the unnamed juvenile remain incarcerated at the time of this publication.
Recently named new suspect, Jose Angel Morales Jr., was brought into custody later on the same day as Baker, Rodriguez, and the minor, although Morales was found sometime after by police.
Morales also faces the same second-degree felony charge of aggravated assault.
In a surprising twist, the Abilene Police Department apprehended the fifth and final suspect, Kacey Broughton on November 16. Broughton has since been charged with second-degree felony aggravated assault and remains incarcerated at the time of publication.
The four named suspects could face 2-20 years in prison if convicted, according to assistant District Attorney Dan Joiner.
New timeline of alleged drive-by shooting released
According to newly released court documents, police officers originally responded to a call of a drive-by shooting November 2, in the 1600 block of Graham Street in northern Abilene. Aleena Alvarez, 12, had been at her aunt's house for a sleepover that night with her cousins.
When Alvarez had gotten up to turn on a light, she heard a loud pop and fell immediately to the floor. The 12-year-old girl suffered a puncture wound to her neck and was subsequently airlifted to Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth.
As a result of the drive-by shooting, Aleena Alvarez will have a permanently lodged bullet in her spine at the T1 level. According to court documents, she will likely have deficits on the left side of her body indefinitely.
Investigating officers at Alvarez's aunt's home found over 30 bullet casings of various sizes, in addition to multiple bullet holes in the home's siding. Officers also obtained video footage of a "black four-door Cadillac with red dice hanging from the rearview mirror" leaving the alley behind the house, shortly after the shooting.
Officers then matched the description of the vehicle, and stopped the car in a traffic stop. Elmer Rodriguez Jr. was the driver at the time of the traffic stop and the passenger at the time of the stop was a juvenile. Both occupants "confessed to shooting up the house" according to recently obtained court documents.
Both Rodriguez and the minor identified the other three individuals as Nicholas Baker, Kacey Broughton and Jose Angel Morales Jr. as being present at the time of the shooting. It was noted that there were five individuals present and five firearms used at the time of the alleged shooting.
In follow up interviews with the suspects, police officers learned that the shooting was in response to another individual "pistol whipping" Morales Jr. The now-incarcerated five individuals believed the person who allegedly assaulted Morales Jr. lived at the location of the drive-by shooting, specifically in the bedroom in which Aleena Alvarez was staying.
The individual accused of assaulting Morales Jr.had moved more than one month before the incident of the drive-by shooting.
In further police interviews, Morales Jr. stated that he and Broughton had obtained an AR-style rifle and three other pistols.
The District Attorney's office will also have 90 days from November 3, to formally indict Morales Jr., Rodriguez, Baker, and the unnamed juvenile. The office will have 90 days from November 16, to formally indict Broughton.
All suspects are considered innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: New timeline emerges of alleged drive-by shooting
