CALDWELL, Idaho — On Friday, a judge denied bail for 15-year-old Johan Rodriguez Gomez, who is accused of killing a Caldwell man. Now, court documents obtained by Idaho News 6 reveal new details about the deadly shooting.
Gomez is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 21-year-old Diego Sanchez of Caldwell. He also faces an aggravated battery charge related to the shooting, which prosecutors say stems from an allegation that Gomez fired a gun at Sanchez's girlfriend.
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During Gomez's arraignment on Friday in Canyon County court, prosecutors raised concerns about his alleged gang affiliations and the potential for further violence if he were released. Prosecutors said they worried that Gomez's release could potentially lead to a "gang war" breaking out.
Judge Matthew Bever denied Gomez bail after hearing those concerns.
In new court documents obtained by Idaho News 6 on Monday, a Caldwell police detective who works with the gang unit identified the victim as a documented Sureño gang member who went by the moniker 'Demon'.
The probable cause affidavit outlined that the victim's girlfriend was with him at the time of the murder and stayed in his truck while he went into the clinic.
While in the parking lot, the girlfriend told investigators that she saw a man with a dark, slicked-back ponytail, who she thought was in his 20s, tell a passenger in a gray sedan he was going to "jump Demon". She said two men got in the sedan and drove away, but quickly came back as Sanchez was exiting the clinic.
According to the court documents, that's when the victim's girlfriend told police she watched as a man shot Sanchez in the back. She told police the shooter got back in his car and fired again while driving away. She was also armed and returned fire, though she has not been charged.
Although she was unable to identify Rodriguez Gomez in a photo lineup, investigators say they used license plate reading cameras to track the getaway car to the suspect's home in Greenleaf.
Gomez was arrested on Thursday, after police said witnesses provided information about a vehicle connected to him.
Judge Bever said Idaho law requires the case to move out of juvenile court because of the first-degree murder charge and the related aggravated battery charge. Johan will be tried as an adult.
The judge said during Friday's hearing that Gomez could face up to life in prison or the death penalty. However, because Gomez was 15 at the time of the alleged crime, the death penalty cannot legally be imposed under a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and Canyon County prosecutors confirmed to Idaho News 6 that the state will not seek it.
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