Santa Fe police: Job seeker fires pellet gun at HomeGoods
A man who police allege fired a pellet gun at a Santa Fe retail store while driving by the front entrance Monday morning had just been inside checking on a job application, according to court records filed against him Tuesday.
Police accuse 24-year-old Jeffrey Rodriguez-Hernandez of firing a pellet gun outside HomeGoods at DeVargas Center near downtown Santa Fe after being told by an employee the store had no open positions.
No injuries were reported in the incident, police said, but several of the store's glass windows were shattered by the projectiles, and people inside were shaken.
Rodriguez-Hernandez faces three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a count of shooting from a motor vehicle and a count of criminal damage to property, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court.
Police noted in a statement of probable cause shoppers and employees inside HomeGoods were hiding on the ground and huddled in the back of the store when officers arrived in response to a call of shots fired.
The store's employees told officers Rodriguez-Hernandez had walked in and inquired with a cashier about an application he had submitted, police wrote. After the woman told him there were no open positions at the store, he cursed at her and walked out, workers told police.
Minutes later, the woman saw Rodriguez-Hernandez drive a blue Ford Fiesta by the entrance of the store, roll down the passenger-side window and hold up what appeared to be a handgun, police wrote.
When he began to shoot, the woman yelled "watch out" to others in the store, she told police, then ran to the back of the store to hide with others.
Police wrote Rodriguez-Hernandez was identified by an application he had submitted to the store. Officers arrested him Monday at his home on the south side of Santa Fe, and he was booked into Santa Fe County jail. He was scheduled to be arraigned on the criminal charges Tuesday, but the court hearing was delayed.
Santa Fe police Deputy Chief Thomas Grundler said Tuesday police executed a search warrant at Rodriguez-Hernandez's home and found the pellet gun they believe he used in the incident.
Rodriguez-Hernandez has two pending drug possession charges from recent years. He was charged in 2020 with misdemeanor battery after police said he struck his father at their house. The battery charge was dismissed after prosecutors lost contact with the victim, according to a notice of dismissal filed in the case.
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