On Jan. 10, just before 2 p.m., Garland police officers responded to a fight between multiple people at a park. The exact location was in the 1100 block of Birchwood Drive, also known as Armstrong Park. A video of this incident was posted on social media in January. And, over the past weeks, GPD has received a number of inquiries.
Armstrong Park is a quiet neighborhood park surrounded by a residential area. There is little history of criminal activity there.
Investigators obtained a video of the incident that showed several vehicles arriving at the park The video shows 16 people becoming involved in a disturbance. In addition, Investigators later learned that these two groups intended to meet at the park to fight because of a feud between individuals in each
group. The fight led to an exchange of gunfire. Two male teenagers, ages 16 and 18, were shot. Officers also located damage to a nearby house.
Both gunshot victims received non-life-threatening injuries. They were treated at nearby hospitals.
Task force formed
A task force was created to address this incident. Over the past four weeks, the task force identified all of the individuals. All who committed a crime, shot a firearm, displayed a firearm, or committed other crimes during this incident were arrested and charged.
Charges
Charges filed range from felony weapon-related charges to drug charges. The result of the investigation includes the recovery and seizure of several weapons, including the semi-automatic rifle fired by a 16-year-old.
In addition to these arrests, the task force is working with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to identify the person who sold the semi-automatic rifle to the juvenile. Additional charges may be forthcoming.
The arrests and the recovery of weapons could not have been accomplished without the collaboration of the Garland Criminal Investigations Division, Garland Gang Investigators, the ATF and most importantly, the community.
GPD would like to thank the ATF for their assistance. Their expertise in forensics analysis and investigative techniques proved instrumental.
Individuals arrested
The person seen in the video shooting a semi-automatic rifle was identified as a 16-year-old Hispanic male. He is a resident of Dallas. He is now 17-years-old. The individual was arrested
and charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. His identity is not being released, as he was a juvenile at the time of the shooting.
Joey Rosas, 17, was arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
Christopher Mauricio, 17, was arrested and charged with Theft of a Firearm and Possession of TetraHydrocanniabinols 4 gm, less than 400 gm.
Hiram Cruz, 17, a resident of Dallas, was arrested and charged with Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon and Discharge of Firearm in Certain Municipalities.