SPRINGDALE -- An 18-year-old and 13-year-old have been arrested in connection with accomplice to murder charges in Springdale as police search for two more men connected to a Saturday shooting.
Jimmy Rodriguez, 20, was shot and killed at 609 Savage St. Police were called at 11:20 a.m.
Tipline
Springdale police are investigating the April 11 shooting death of Jimmy Rodriguez on 609 Savage St.
Rodolfo Martinez, 18, of Springdale and Giovanni Vasquez-Sanchez, 17, of Springdale are wanted in connection with the shooting. Both are considered armed and dangerous.
If you have information on their whereabouts call the Springdale Police Department at 479-751-4542 or the anonymous tipline at 479-750-4484.
Source: Springdale Police Department
Police were searching Sunday for Rodolfo Martinez, 18, who is believed to be the shooter and Giovanni Vasquez-Sanchez, 17, the driver of the vehicle. The two men should be considered armed and dangerous, said Derek Hudson, spokesman for the Springdale Police Department.
Martinez is wanted in connection with capital murder and a felony count of engaging in continuing criminal enterprise. Vasquez-Sanchez is wanted in connection with accomplice to capital murder and a felony count of engaging in continuing criminal enterprise. Police released Vasquez-Sanchez's name in the interest of public safety and because he will soon turn 18 and will be charged as an adult, according to a police news release.
Four men in a blue Ford Focus circled the neighborhood before stopping at 609 Savage St. on Saturday morning, according to a preliminary police report. The teens in the car yelled at three men standing outside the house, asking for their gang affiliation. Two of them said they were not in a gang, and one said he was. Several rounds were fired from a handgun, Hudson said.
Only one bullet hit Rodriguez, Hudson said. He died of a wound to the upper torso. It was unclear Sunday if Rodriguez was the teen who said he was in a gang. Rodriguez was pronounced dead Saturday at the emergency room of Northwest Medical Center.
Jose Delatorre, 18, of Springdale was arrested at 10:30 a.m. Sunday in connection with accomplice to capital murder and a felony count of engaging in continuing criminal enterprise. An unnamed 13-year-old boy, also of Springdale, was arrested at 9:17 p.m. Saturday. The two were passengers in the car.
After his arrest Delatorre told police the four had armed themselves and gone to Savage Street looking for a rival gang member who disrespected them. Rodriguez was a cousin of their intended target.
Detectives found the blue Ford Focus Saturday and recovered the handgun. The four teens were driving a black extended cab truck with dark tinted windows after the incident, according to the police news release.
It is the second fatal shooting and third shooting incident in Springdale in a month.
"We believe all these individuals are tied together through gang affiliation," Hudson said.
He declined to specify which gang or gangs the teens were affiliated with.
Fabian Rodriguez, 18, was shot and killed at 32 Applegate Drive on March 13 and two other people were injured. Hector Saul Ramos, 17, was arrested in connection with the March 13 shooting.
A drive-by shooting overnight on March 14 on Pierce Avenue resulted in the arrests of a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old. No one was injured.
City leaders called for a united front Sunday.
The police department will look first to bring those responsible to justice, said Kathy O'Kelley, Springdale police chief, in a social media post Sunday. The department is fully committed to addressing the gang problem, O'Kelley said.
"We must avoid creating an image of gangs in our community that demonizes minority members and other marginalized youth and find ways through prevention, intervention and suppression that redirects those susceptible to becoming involved in the gang culture," part of her statement read.
The community as a whole will not allow itself to be defined by the actions of a few, said Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse in a social media post Sunday.
"The City of Springdale will spare no expense, or take any legal method or tactic off the table, as we work to purge this area or any other neighborhood of a concentration of the criminal element that fosters such gang activity as took place yesterday," he said.
Hudson talked Sunday of partnerships with the schools, community and police and pointed to the large turnout for a community watch program after the Applegate shooting.
"That's the first step, that people care," he said.
The recent violence has been mostly teenage boys and is limited to two groups, he said. Police did not immediately release details of Sunday's arrest. Citing possible retribution, Hudson was cautious on details.
"There's no magic bullet that can fix this. We hope it does not get worse before it gets better," he said.
Anonymous tips can be called in to the Springdale Police Department at (479) 750-4484.
NW News on 04/13/2015