2nd man arrested in NWA lake shooting

FAYETTEVILLE — Police say the second man arrested in connection with a fatal shooting near Lake Fayetteville last month shot the driver of a pickup that was leaving the scene.

Alberto Esteban-Cruz, 21, of 3016 Twin County St. in Springdale, was booked into the Washington County Detention Center late Friday. He is facing preliminary charges of attempted murder, committing a terroristic act and engaging in a continuing criminal gang, organization or enterprise.

Esteban-Cruz was being held Monday on $750,000 bond in the Detention Center. His arraignment is set for April 12 in Washington County Circuit Court.

Witnesses said Esteban-Cruz, a passenger in a BMW, fired a pistol from the vehicle toward a Chevrolet Silverado pickup as both were leaving the scene, according to a preliminary report filed with prosecutors.

The driver of the pickup suffered injuries to his arm, according to police. Multiple bullet holes were found in the pickup’s driver’s side door window, passenger side body and rear window. An intact .45-caliber bullet was recovered from the door of the pickup.

Police say a passenger in the pickup was endangered by the gunfire as well.

Esteban-Cruz admitted during an interview with Fayetteville police he was at Lake Fayetteville for a prearranged fight between a group of his friends and an opposing group, according to the report. He told police someone pointed an AR-15 pistol in his face and threatened to kill him.

Esteban-Cruz told police he had a .45-caliber pistol in his pocket but did not reach for it because it did not have a round chambered and he believed he would not have time to load it before being shot by the other individual, according to the report.

Esteban-Cruz told police that as the fight broke up, he got into the front passenger seat of the BMW while the person who had pointed the AR-15 at him got into the pickup, then pointed the AR-15 at the BMW. Esteban-Cruz said he fired first and emptied all 10 rounds from his .45 toward the pickup. Multiple .45-caliber shell casings were found at the scene, according to the report.

Esteban-Cruz told police the pistol ended up missing after he got “black-out drunk” at a party a few days after the shooting.

A search of Esteban-Cruz’ bedroom turned up an empty pistol case along with multiple magazines, ammunition and an empty holster, according to the report.

Esteban-Cruz is the second person arrested in the case.

Gilberto Gordillo, 19, of 1406 Powell St. in Springdale, was arrested Feb. 21 in connection with the incident. During a court appearance Friday, he pleaded innocent to one count of capital murder and four counts of attempted capital murder.

Both capital murder and attempted capital murder, if convicted, are punishable by the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Prosecutors have not determined whether they will seek the death penalty in Gordillo’s case.

Gordillo was given a Nov. 4 court date before Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay. He is being held at the Washington County jail in lieu of $750,000 bond.

Fayetteville police received a call from Springdale police about 11:15 p.m. Feb. 15 reporting shots fired in the area of Powell Street in Springdale and Lakeview Drive in Fayetteville, according to police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Mauk.

When police arrived at 599 E. Lakeview Drive — the Lake Fayetteville Environmental Studies Center — they found Christian Alexander Rodriguez-Barroso, 18, of Springdale had been killed in the shooting, according to police. His body was lying in the road.

Mauk said four people were taken to hospitals with what appeared to be nonlife-threatening injuries. All of the victims were between 18 and 20 years old and lived in Springdale, he said.

The incident is believed to have taken place in the gravel parking lot of the Environmental Studies Center, which was closed at that hour, Mauk said.

Video from a nearby residence captured the shooting, according to a police report.

The video shows a large number of vehicles gathered in the gravel parking lot at the environmental studies center. Two groups of people then gathered in the middle of the parking lot, and a fight broke out, according to the report.

The groups separated, and individuals ran to their vehicles or away from the area on foot, according to the report. Multiple vehicles began to leave the parking lot through the only exit. Gunfire was heard and muzzle flashes were seen on the video.

Rodriguez-Barroso ran toward the exit and climbed into the bed of a nearby pickup. The pickup headed north on Powell Street, and an individual is seen on video firing on it, according to the report.

Another camera angle showed Rodriguez-Barroso fall from the moving pickup into the street, according to the report. Video showed the person who had just fired on the pickup leaving the scene in a vehicle that drove around Rodriguez-Barroso and headed north on Powell Street.