A Rogers man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a drive-by shooting earlier this year.
James Carranza, 21, pleaded guilty Thursday to accomplice to unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, a Class Y felony. Carranza pleaded guilty under a plea agreement attorney Marianne Hudson reached with A.J. Anglin, deputy prosecutor.
Carranza also was charged with attempted capital murder, but that charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Carranza admitted in court that his gun and vehicle were used in the May 18 shooting of Jose Quiroz, who was hit four times and required surgery.
Police believe Mario Torres-Rios, 18, of Rogers is the man who pulled the trigger. Torres-Rios is charged with attempted capital murder and first degree unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle. He is being held on $1 million bond in the Benton County Jail.
Rogers police received a report of gunshots in the area of North Third and West Persimmon streets at 12:14 a.m. May 18, according to court documents. Police later received a call from Mercy Hospital about a man there with gunshot wounds, according to court documents.
Brad Abercrombie, Rogers Police Department detective, interviewed Quiroz and witness Freddy Medina at the hospital. Quiroz told Abercrombie that Torres-Rios and Carranza had been at Medina’s residence at 503 N. Third St. earlier that night and threatened Medina. Quiroz told police he was walking toward a car when someone stuck a gun out of the vehicle window and shot him, according to court documents.
Carranza later was identified as the driver and registered owner of the car, according to the probable cause affidavit. Carranza admitted to police that he was present at the shooting, according to court documents.
He told police he was driving when Torres-Rios shot from the passenger’s side window. Police later found a Glock .40-caliber pistol, according to court documents.
Circuit Judge Brad Karren accepted the plea agreement and Carranza’s guilty plea.
Carranza was sentenced to 10 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He must abide by a suspended sentence agreement for five years after his release from prison.