El Paso drive-by shooting spree linked to girlfriend issue, prosecutor says

Yahoo

28-04-2025

A drive-by shooting spree resulting in three arrests was linked to an El Paso teenager upset because another guy was messaging his girlfriend while he was previously incarcerated, an assistant district attorney said at a court hearing.
There were no injuries reported in a pair of shootings that occurred less than an hour apart on Thursday afternoon, April 24, in the Upper Valley and the Segundo Barrio, El Paso police spokesman Officer Adrian Cisneros stated in a news release.
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Antonio Abel Morales, 32, Jordan James Yarde, 17, and a 16-year-old boy, all of West El Paso, were each arrested on charges of deadly conduct and discharge of a firearm, police said.
The first shooting occurred at 3:29 p.m. Thursday. Police responded to a call that suspects in a blue vehicle had fired gunshots at a home on Hillview Avenue in the Upper Valley, near Thorn Avenue and Doniphan Drive, police said.
About 4:15 p.m., police received a call of shots fired involving a blue Honda Ridgeline pickup truck in the 600 block of Nino Aguilera Street in the Segundo Barrio, police said.
An officer spotted the Honda nearby and stopped it by the Circle K store on St. Vrain Street and East Paisano Drive, police said. The three suspects were arrested.
A man, a woman and a child were inside one of the homes that was targeted but there were no injuries reported in either shooting, an assistant district attorney said Sunday during a teleconference bond hearing for Yarde.
One of the victims had received in a message with a photo showing Yarde holding a firearm, the prosecutor said. Yarde also allegedly told police that he was upset another man had been messaging his girlfriend while he was in custody.
"My client does absolutely deny that he was the one who discharged the firearm in this case," said Ed Hernandez, a deputy public defender representing Yarde at the bond hearing. Hernandez added that Yarde lives with his grandmother and is trying to get his GED.
The assistant district attorney pointed out that the prosecution is not alleging Yarde was the triggerman but he was in the truck with the driver and the shooter during the shootings. It was not disclosed why Yarde may have been previously in custody.
The 16-year-old boy accused in the shootings was handed over to juvenile justice authorities. His name was not disclosed because he is a juvenile.
In the Texas criminal justice system, persons 17 and older are considered adults.
Yarde allegedly had a vape pen and faces an additional charge of possession of a controlled substance. Morales faces an added charge of theft of less than $100 with a previous conviction, police said.
During the hearing, the prosecution requested that the bonds not be reduced for the safety of the victims and innocent bystanders who could have gotten hurt in the shootings.
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Magistrate Judge Ruben Nuñez left the bond amounts the same for Morales and Yarde but "split" the bonds with personal recognizance "PR" bonds, which do not require cash or surety to make bail.
For each defendant, the deadly conduct charge was $20,000 (split into $5,000 cash/surety, $15,000 PR) and the discharge of a firearm bonds were set at $3,000 ($1,500 cash/surety, $1,500 PR).
Morales was issued a $2,000 PR bond on the theft case. Yarde has a $500 bond on the drug possession case, according to jail records.
Both men remain incarcerated Sunday at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown, according to a jail log.
As part of the bond conditions, Magistrate Judge Nuñez ordered Yarde may not have any weapons, firearms or ammunition, can't use drugs or alcohol and must submit to drug testing. He can't have contact with the co-defendants. He can't have contact with the victims, must stay 200 yards away from their home or place of employment and Yarde will have a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily curfew.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at [e-mail] and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso drive-by shootings linked to girlfriend issue, prosecutor says