The Colorado Springs Police Department arrested three people for their roles in a drive-by shooting that injured a man caught in the crossfire, according to an arrest document acquired by The Gazette.
On the evening of September 2, cops responded to the 2100 block of Delta Drive on the city’s southeast side, where Ricardo Maldonado was shot while driving.
Maldonado was not participating in the gunfire, but was hit in the shoulder by a bullet while driving passed two groups shooting at each other.
Last Monday, the Police Department filed arrest warrants for Joseph Ortiz, Christopher Wiggins, and an individual whose identity was removed from the affidavit on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, among other counts.
According to the affidavit, law enforcement was able to connect Ortiz and Wiggins to the shooting due to the car used during the shooting and an alleged armed robbery earlier in the day.
According to police, on the day of the drive-by shooting, Wiggins and others robbed a guy at a motel on South Nevada Avenue and left in a Lexus. About five hours later, the automobile was discovered at the location of the shooting.
Through the automobile, police were able to arrest Wiggins on robbery charges and obtain an order to search his phone. The affidavit cites text conversations between Wiggins and Ortiz that police believe identify the duo as being in the car during the shooting, including messages about cleaning shot casings from the vehicle and Google searches for where to repair car windows.
The affidavit described Wiggins and a man named Amir Guillory, who was arrested in connection with the heist but is not believed to have been involved in the shooting, as members of the gang RFMB 476.
After being arrested on robbery charges, Wiggins said police he was shot in his truck but did not return fire. According to the police affidavit, Wiggins’ narrative of events does not match the security camera evidence of the incident.
According to the arrest affidavit, authorities have yet to identify a man and a woman who were among those involved in the shooting, one of whom fired at least four shots at Wiggins and Ortiz.
The affidavit indicates that it is unclear who fired the gun that struck Maldonado.
Wiggins and Ortiz made their first court appearances on Wednesday and will return on October 23 to face charges filed by the District Attorney’s Office. Both were arrested on allegations of attempted first-degree murder and assault.
Wiggins and Ortiz are being held at the El Paso County Jail on $100,000 and $50,000 bonds, respectively.
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3 arrested in connection with drive-by shooting that left passerby injured in Colorado Springs