Clovis man charged with murder

CLOVIS — Manuel Rodriguez was dying from a number of gunshot wounds when he informed bystanders who had been attempting to assist him, “Amanda’s boyfriend did this to me.”

Amanda, police consider, was probably Amanda Arguijo, the one-time girlfriend of Ray Gomez. Relations of the sufferer helped police find Arguijo and Gomez, and on Might 15 Gomez was arrested on warrants unrelated to Rodriguez’s taking pictures.

On Friday, nonetheless jailed on the unrelated warrants, Gomez, 49, was charged with first-degree homicide, accused of taking pictures Rodriguez.

Clovis Police Lt. Trevor Thron stated expenses of aggravated battery and youngster abuse towards Gomez had been from November.

“He had these warrants excellent however no one had situated him till we knocked on his door on the fifteenth,” Thron stated. “We had been nonetheless attempting to shore up some stuff with extra interviews (associated to the murder) and we lastly obtained all the info collectively (Thursday) and he was charged (with homicide) on Friday.”

Rodriguez, 43, was discovered with a number of gunshot wounds on Might 11 outdoors a house within the 900 block of Edwards Avenue. He died the subsequent day in a Lubbock hospital.

Court docket information present police noticed “blood droplets” outdoors Gomez’s dwelling after they tried to contact him on Might 15. Gomez’s house is about two blocks from the place Rodriguez was shot, information present.

Police obtained a search warrant for Gomez’s dwelling, primarily based on the blood droplets, and he was arrested on the excellent warrants, information present, whereas the murder investigation continued.

Police initially believed a girl named Amanda Rodarte may have been the Amanda referenced in Rodriguez’s dying phrases. However after issuing a public announcement that they needed to speak to Rodarte, police discovered her and decided she was not concerned within the taking pictures.

Amanda Arguijo informed police she was not seeing Gomez and didn’t know something in regards to the murder. She stated she had been mates with the sufferer since childhood.

Information additionally present Gomez and Rodriguez had been mates, although Gomez stated he had not seen Rodriguez in weeks. Gomez informed police the final time he’d seen Rodriguez was at Gomez’s dwelling when Rodriguez’s “knuckle was busted up and he was bleeding from his wound.” Gomez stated that will have been Rodriguez’s blood inside and outdoors Gomez’s dwelling that police discovered.

Information present police tried to observe a blood path from Gomez’s dwelling to the world the place Rodriguez was shot. “There’s a massive hole within the blood path,” information present.

Along with blood proof, police collected mobile phone and social media information from Gomez that indicated “he was in a rush to scrub up his home” and go away lower than 24 hours after the taking pictures.

Gomez was being held with out bond on Friday within the Curry County Grownup Detention Heart.

The Rodriguez slaying was the fourth this 12 months that Curry-Roosevelt county officers have investigated as homicides.

Suspects have been recognized and arrested in all 4 instances and are awaiting trial.