Posted on 04/22/2012 8:20:09 PM PDT by marktwain
HOBBS, N.M. (KRQE) - Nathan Velasquez admitted to Hobbs police he shot an unarmed man but said he had good reason: the man was trying to steal his car and endangered his life.
Hobbs dispatch received an emergency call just after 8 p.m. Monday from Cristobal Carrizoza night who said he'd been shot in the chest.
"When police got here they found Cristobal Carrizoza suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest, and the individual Velasquez, who we later learned had done the shooting," Hobbs Officer Mike Stone said.
Velasquez, 20, told police he went to get into his car and found someone trying to steal it.
"Carrizoza was getting into his vehicle, and he said, 'No. What are you doing in my vehicle? That's mine,'" Stone said.
At that point, police said Velasquez reached into his car and pulled out a gun, but Carrizoza, 25, fought to get it.
That's when Velasquez told police the gun went off shooting Carrizoza in the chest.
After the shooting Carrizoza staggered off while Velasquez put down his gun in a yard and waited for police to show up.
"It's pretty rare, but it appears that he thought that he had acted in self-defense, and that's why he didn't leave the scene," Stone said.
Responding officers found Carrizoza lying in the street, and they immediately recognized him.
"He's routinely contacted by police," Stone said. "He's been arrested numerous times for a lot of theft crimes."
Carrizoza's record with Hobbs police dates back to 2005 and includes robberies, domestic disputes and drug activity. He was also a suspect in a rape case in 2010.
Carrizoza was flown to a Lubbock, Texas, hospital. Authorities said his wound is not life-threatening.
The District Attorney's office concluded Velasquez acted in self-defense and that the shooting was justified.
Stone said this could have ended up much worse.
"Even if you're protecting yourself, once the round goes out of the chamber, you can't take it back," he said. "The public really needs to consider that.
"And everyone's lucky here that no one was killed."
Once Carrizoza gets out the hospital he could be heading to jail. The District Attorney's office will decide if he'll face charges.
He thought is was because it was. At least, that is what the Distright Attorney determined.
Is Nathan Velasquez a White Hispanic?
Given the perps history, I believe it is wrong to say EVERYONE is lucky nobody died. I think the only person lucky he didn’t die is the perp. I believe society would have been better off if he did die as it sounds he’s a perpetual thief, robber and aggressor and overall pain in the ass to that part of the community.
The perp lived.
I think he needs to get a bigger gun.
He needs some more time at the gun range.
Hey, officer Stone! If I shoot someone then I want them dead.
New Mexico? Where they used to hang horse thieves? But it is okay now to steal some guy’s car?
There was an incident here in the liberal state of Washington where some guys were trying to break into a guy’s house. He chased them off and shot at their truck as they were heading down the road.
The only comment the police had was “We believe there may be a window shot out of the truck”.
Throw them both in jail.
Any moron who claims with a straight face that "the gun went off" deserves jail.
The Obama Justice Dept wants a list of any white Hispanics it can charge.
The Obama Justice Dept wants a list of any white Hispanics it can charge.
If it goes to trial, the man should base his defense on the State Constitution, Art II, Sec 4:
[Inherent rights.]
All persons are born equally free, and have certain natural, inherent and inalienable rights, among which are the rights of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and of seeking and obtaining safety and happiness.
Yeah, I was surprised at the cop’s comments too being he is from a small town in NM. It’s a well-armed state and people aren’t hesitant to bring their arms to bear if the need arises. I love it there.
"Even if you're protecting yourself, once the round goes out of the chamber, you can't take it back," he said. "The public really needs to consider that.
"And everyone's lucky here that no one was killed."
Officer Mike Stone is a typical condescending elitist pig, scolding the victim for firing one bullet in self defense. Meanwhile, the LAPD fire OVER 90 shots at a fleeing perp. Nice. Can they take back 70 or 80 of those shots please, idiot Stone? http://forum.davidicke.com/showthread.php?t=206904
“lucky” no one was killed?
From the way this piece reads, it would seem the population would have benefited from the criminals death.
The “politically correct” Hobbs PD lost control of the town to the gangbangers a long time ago.
Here in Hobbs America I guess the Hispanics are are a little less white than the ones in Florida. Could be even Mexican on Tejano, and they sure wouldn't care about that!
Though I would think Velasquez would more likely be the Tejano!
Hobbs is a somewhat gritty place. The thing about the city cops here is they are typically from somewhere else, not many qualified locals it would seem. They stay long enough to collect their signing bonus then move on.
I took the mandatory alcohol class to get a NM driver's license back in the '90s. The class was given by a woman, a former prosecutor from D.C. of all places, and she made two statements that really stood out. One, "most people in NM are armed so it's not a good idea to flip people off or otherwise act like a jerk out in traffic." The second one was "As far as I'm concerned drunk drivers ought to be taken out of their vehicles and shot right there on the side of the road."
I thought it was great but you should have seen the reactions of some of the eastern transplants there to get their first NM license.
"Welcome to the wild west, greenhorn!" lol
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