PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Four people appeared in court on Monday after being charged in connection with the death of a 17-year-old over the weekend.
Police arrested Obed Garcia, 15, Francisco Martinez-Chavez, 16, and Cristian Martinez-Chavez, 17 and Isai Guzman-Ramirez on Saturday after Jose Ricardo Morales was found dead near Southeast 187th Avenue and Southeast Stark Street.
Francisco and Cristian Martinez-Chavez are brothers, according to police.
Court documents show that Morales was shot at least once in the right shoulder area. Detectives believe the weapon used to kill Morales was a .22 caliber rifle.
Records show that immediately after the shooting, a Gresham police office was traveling eastbound on Southeast Yamhill Street near 187th Avenue when he saw a car speeding southbound. The car “blew” through a stop sign and turned onto Southeast Yamhill Street and came to a stop about 7 feet from the back bumper of the officer’s patrol car.
As the officer approached the driver’s side, he could see police lights flashing in the distance. The officer started listening to his police radio and learned about the shooting, documents show.
The officer noted that in the car were 4 Hispanic men and all were sweating, according to court documents.
Garcia, 15, was identified as the driver. He gave the officer an old school ID as his identification.
Another officer arrived at the traffic stop to help conduct back up. That officer reported seeing blood on one of the passengers in the car. Police used a flashlight and “saw a trigger assembly and a wood stock to” – what they believed was a rifle.
Police learned the shooting stemmed from an incident that happened earlier in the night where Morales had reportedly punched Cristian Martinez multiple times in the face. Officers said there was evidence to support the claims, according to court documents.
After Cristian Martinez was assaulted, the group agreed to go to Guzeman’s residence to get the gun. At least one of the people arrested identified Cristian Martinez as the shooter, according to court documents. Cristian Martinez told detectives that “he did not know how the victim was shot or killed.”
Guzman and Cristian Martinez are reportedly members of the “Down with Southside” gang, which is a subset of the Sureno gang, according to court documents. Guzman admitted to getting the gun and allowing it to be used to shoot and kill Morales.
Defense attorneys for all four suspects enter a plea of not guilty on behalf of their clients. The three minors are all charged as adults under Ballot Measure 11.
They will be back in court later this month.