Man Sues Over Gun Incident at Allsup’s

Victim Hit By Bullet Fragments

The man who was injured when a Pojoaque artist opened fire in a convenience store gas station in May has sued for damages after he was hit by ricocheting bullet fragments.

In documents filed Friday in Santa Fe district court, Elijah Mark Vera says the bullet fragments injured his hip and shoulder. Vera was hit by bullet fragments after Pojoaque artist Mateo Romero pulled a gun during an altercation with a homeless person at the Allsup’s gas station on North Guadalupe Street and fired a shot into the pavement.

Nobody was arrested in connection with the incident, and police said Romero didn’t intend to injure anyone.

Romero’s attorney, Dan Cron, said the artist acted in self defense, fearing he would be robbed by the homeless person, whose girlfriend also had previously accosted him.

But Vera’s attorney, Lidia Garza Morales, said Monday that Romero “is totally to blame” for the injuries to her client.

“We’re amazed that somebody would pull a gun and shoot,” Morales said. “There were a lot of other people around. Mr. Romero had a duty to handle his firearm with care, and he failed miserably in that.”

Vera, a construction worker, has been largely unable to work since the incident, Morales said. “He’s continuing medical care,” she said. “We don’t really know the extent of the injury yet, or if it will disable him.”

Morales said Vera also was “a completely innocent bystander” in the incident, which happened May 25. Romero was at the gas station for a fill-up when he pulled a gun after being accosted by the homeless man.

Romero fired what his attorney described as “a warning shot” into the pavement, and fragments of the bullet hit the nearby Vera.

Romero then left the gas station, but later turned himself in to police.

Romero did not return phone messages left at his Pojoaque home Monday.