RATON POLICE DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE
Date: September 1st, 2020
Ref: Shooting at Car Wash (400 South 2nd St.)
On August 29th, 2020 at about 2228 hours, Raton Police Department Officers were dispatched to 400 South 2nd Street, in reference to shots being fired at the car wash. Sergeant Coca, who was in the area, heard at least three shots fired. Raton Dispatch Center (RDC) further informed that one male subject had been shot.
Officer Protsman arrived on scene first, located the victim and immediately began applying a tourniquet to the right thigh of Vernon Edwards Jr. a nineteen-year-old male. Vernon Edwards Jr. was lying in the south bay of the car wash and had been shot at least 4-5 times. Raton EMS arrived on scene and began evaluating and treating Vernon Edwards Jr. Officers photographed the south bay to preserve any short-term evidence locating several spent casings and bullet shrapnel inside the bay. Vernon Edwards Jr. was transported to Miner’s Colfax Medical Center (MCMC) by Raton EMS. Officers collected statements from witnesses who stated that Tristian Gallegos and Francisco Olguin engaged in a physical altercation. Witnesses stated Vernon Edwards Jr. and a seventeen-year-old male subject engaged in a physical altercation and the seventeen-year-old brandished a black firearm shooting Vernon Edwards Jr. After the seventeen-year-old fired the handgun he ran westbound out of the south bay and then northbound along the westside of the carwash with the handgun in hand. The handgun was not located in the area.
Officers contacted Ray Luksich owner of the car wash to allow Officers to view the video surveillance captured on the car wash video surveillance system. Officers reviewed the video surveillance and positively identified the seventeen-year-old as the shooter. Sergeant Valdez also observed in the video surveillance prior to the altercations, Gallegos retrieved the handgun from his front waistband area, racked the slide causing a live round to be ejected, and then handing the handgun to the seventeen-year-old. Gallegos and Olguin engaged in a physical altercation in the south bay of the car wash. The seventeen-year-old and Vernon Edwards Jr. engaged in a physical altercation and began falling to the ground when the juvenile discharged the firearm. Vernon Edwards Jr. was struck in the right thigh, right upper chest, right arm, left upper shoulder/left arm (entry/exit wound), and left toe. After the firearm was discharged Gallegos and the seventeen-year-old ran from the area to a blue sport utility vehicle driven by an unknown female subject. While at MCMC Officer Protsman was informed by one of the nurses that she was told by Vernon Edwards Jr. the identity of the juvenile who shot him.
Officers attempted to locate Gallegos and the juvenile at three separate locations throughout the remainder of their patrol shift with negative contact.
The last known status update for the victim Vernon Edwards, is he was airlifted to the University of NM Medical Hospital (UNMMH) for a higher level of medical treatment.
Warrants were generated for the suspects arrest and have been entered into the National Database at this time. The Seventeen-year-old suspect was taken into custody without incident at 7 P.M. on August 31, 2020 and transported to a juvenile facility in Bernalillo.
Thanks very much for the updates. We greatly appreciate them.