Affidavit: Bel Air student accused in Shawver Park double murder over $80 drug deal
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Affidavits obtained by KTSM Monday outline what led El Paso Police to arrest a 17-year-old Bel Air High School student and his uncle on murder charges after the deaths of two teenage boys at Shawver Park on November 11.
Miguel Angel Marin, 17, and Martin Rodriguez, 32, are each charged with Capital Murder for the deaths of 18-year-old Steven Lopez and 16-year-old Raul Raygoza. They are currently held in the El Paso County Detention Center without bond. EPPD identify victims in Shawver Park fatal shooting
According to affidavits filed against Marin and Rodriguez, Marin was friends with victim Steven Lopez, as the two were both homeless for some time and became acquaintances. Marin allegedly owed Lopez $80 for a drug debt, and the pair agreed to meet at Shawver Park on November 11 to settle the debt and so Marin could purchase more drugs from him.
Documents say Raygoza was sitting on the driver’s side, while Lopez sat in the front passenger seat and Lopez’s 14-year-old girlfriend sat in the backseat. She told investigators Marin arrived with Rodriguez and a third person, who has yet to be arrested in the case.
She said she could identify Marin but didn’t know who Rodriguez or the third person was.
She said the unidentified suspect and Marin got out of a white car, approached Lopez on the passenger side, and yelled, “give us everything you got” before she heard a gunshot.
Only then did she see Rodriguez, standing by the right side of the car with a long AR-type rifle.
He fired it once into the air, and she ducked down before hearing more gunshots.
affidavit
The autopsy showed Lopez was shot once to his upper chest, which perforated his neck and lung. Raygoza was shot twice, once to his back and another in his arm. El Paso Police arrest 2 in connection to fatal Lower Valley park shooting
Detectives learned Lopez was communicating with an Instagram user named “trapboyyy_miguel” before the shooting. Documents identify that user as Miguel Marin. Investigators discovered Marin was a student at Bel Air High School where school security advised detectives that Marin had a girlfriend who also attended the school. Family mourns teen slain in shooting at Lower Valley park
During an interview with detectives, Marin’s girlfriend revealed that he allegedly admitted to shooting Lopez and Raygoza. Detectives gathered photos and screenshots that reportedly supported her claims.
The day after the shooting, Lopez’s girlfriend attended a vigil at Carolina Skatepark with her mother, where she says Marin and Rodriguez showed up. She told her mother, “that’s them,” before they left because she said she feared for her life. ‘I was so scared, I couldn’t believe it’ residents react to 3 people shot at Lower Valley Park
After his arrest, Marin allegedly admitted to police his uncle Martin Rodriguez and a juvenile male was with him during the shooting. He said the juvenile drove away from the park, but they switched so Rodriguez could drive after they got away from the park.
El Paso Police says their investigation is ongoing, and at least one additional arrest is expected.
