Bonds Set In Drive-By Shooting Case

Pair Arrested On Charges Of Attempted Capital Murder

Monday, May 20, 2013

BENTONVILLE — Two men remained in the Benton County Jail after their arrests Saturday in connection with a drive-by shooting in Rogers.

Mario Torres, 18, and James Carranza, 21, both of Rogers, were arrested on charges of attempted capital murder, possession of a defaced weapon, and misdemeanor theft by receiving.

Torres is being held on $1 million bond while Carranza’s bond was set at $500,000.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Rogers police received a call at 12:14 a.m. Saturday concerning shots fired in the area of North Third and West Persimmon streets. Police could not find anyone wounded, but received a call from Mercy Medical Center about a man there with gunshot wounds, the affidavit states.

Brad Abercrombie, a detective with the Rogers Police Department went to the hospital and interviewed the wounded man, Jose Quiroz, and a witness, Freddy Medina, the affidavit states.

According to court documents, Quiroz was shot five to seven times in the upper torso, which required surgery.

Quiroz told the detective that Torres and Carranza had been at Medina’s residence earlier that night and the pair had threatened Medina, the affidavit states.

Medina and Quiroz were outside Medina’s home at 503 N. Third St. and Medina went inside to use the bathroom, according to court documents. Quiroz said he observed Carranza’s vehicle drive by and the car stopped in the road, the affidavit states.

Quiroz said he got a baseball bat and approached the vehicle, but then decided to put the bat down, the affidavit states. After putting the bat down, Quiroz said he started walking toward Carranza’s car and someone stuck a gun out of the window and started shooting him, the affidavit states.

Medina also told police that he had seen Carranza’s green colored Pontiac Grand Prix driving by before he went inside, according to the affidavit.

An eyewitness to the shooting told police that the passenger in a dark-colored Grand Prix shot Quiroz, according to court documents.

The vehicle was found on South Eighth Street in Rogers, a traffic stop was conducted and the driver — Carranza — was identified as the registered owner, the affidavit states.

Police found a bullet shell casing jammed in the rear passenger side window seal of the vehicle, according to court documents.

Carranza was taken to the police station where he admitted being present at the shooting, according to court documents.

Carranza told police that he was driving his car when “Oso” shot from the passenger side window, the affidavit states. After the shooting, Carranza said he and “Oso” went to Carranza’s residence and “Oso” told him to hide the gun and Carranza put it under his mattress, the affidavit states.

According to court documents, Carranza told police that Oso’s first name is Mario, but Carranza said he did not know his last name.

Police were able to identify “Oso” as Mario Torres from prior investigations, the affidavit states. Torres was later taken into custody after a police officer saw Torres leaving his residence, according to court documents.