Pueblo, CO: Murder suspect gives himself up

Gunshot struck car door of a motorist who drove up on the incident.
Posted: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 12:00 am
By GAYLE PEREZ | gperez@chieftain.com |
A 22-year-old Pueblo man wanted in the shooting death of a 49-year-old man at Downtown intersection turned himself in to authorities Monday night.
David Luna had been sought on a warrant for first-degree murder in connection with the shooting of Richard Maes at the intersection of Midtown Circle and Eighth Street at about 1:35 p.m. Monday.
A police investigator said Luna turned himself in at the Pueblo County jail at about 9:40 p.m. and was taken to the police department for questioning.
Maes died at 7:10 p.m. at Parkview Medical Center, where he had been taken for treatment of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, according to Pueblo police Sgt. Eric Bravo.
Policesaid Maes and Luna, who reportedly is the boyfriend of Maes' daughter, Melissa Lucero, 18, had problems in the past.
"There has been some animosity between the two in the past, but it is unknown what led up to the shooting," Bravo said.
Maes was driving west on Eighth Street, entering the parking lot of the Midtown Shopping Center when he encountered Luna, who was driving in the area in a blue car, according to Bravo.
Bravo said Maes got out of his truck and Luna got out his vehicle, and the two began talking.
"From what witnesses said there wasn't a whole lot said or any hollering when the suspect shoots the victim several times in the chest," Bravo said.
Police were still trying to determine how many shots were fired. A witness reported hearing four shots.
After Luna fired at Maes, the suspect got back into his vehicle and drove south on Midtown Circle, police said.
Maes' girlfriend and another daughter were following Maes in another vehicle when they drove up on the scene. They told witnesses that they knew Luna was responsible for the shooting.
Police located the car Luna was driving about 30 minutes after the shooting in a detached garage of a house at 1007 W. 11th Street, a few blocks from where the shooting occurred.
Luna's mother lives at the home.
Police obtained a warrant and searched the garage. They still were searching the home late Monday.
Luna's mother told police her son had come home for a short time Monday afternoon, but then left. She said she did not know where he went.
The midday shooting stunned several motorists who drove up on the incident.
A vehicle that had stopped at the traffic sign at eastbound Eighth Street was struck by at least one shot, according to Bravo. The driver of that vehicle was not injured.
Another unidentified woman, who passed through the intersection immediately following the shooting, said she thought it was a traffic accident.
"I thought he had gotten hit by a car," she said. "I ran over to him and that's when I saw he had been shot in the stomach."
"What is happening to our town," she said, shaking her head. "Now, they're shooting out in broad daylight with innocent people around."