Fort Sumner man pleads guilty in shooting death

A Fort Sumner man last week pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the May 2021 death of 16-year-old Ricardo Gonzales.

Xavier Lucero, 18 at the time of the incident, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by District Judge Fred Van Soelen.

According to a news release from District Attorney Quentin Ray, the incident began after five teenage boys had been at a party south of Brady Street in Clovis.

After an argument resulted in a fist fight, the five boys left the area. They were pursued by a vehicle containing three young men, including Lucero.

The fleeing boys became trapped when they were stopped by a passing train on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, court records show.

"When the pursuing vehicle caught up to them, things became deadly," according to the DA's news release.

"The defendant, along with two others, got out of their vehicle and began to open fire with hand guns. In fleeing the area, one of the victims was shot in the shoulder. A second victim died when the vehicle he was fleeing in crashed."

Following the incident, Ray said Lucero fled to California where he was apprehended.

"All I can come away with is what a waste this is," Van Soelen said in handing down the sentence.

"Because of the decisions that you made, you took what was a fist fight and grew it into a tragic loss to everyone involved."

Defense attorney Sandra Gallagher said the case was "a tragedy, all around."

"(M)y client was barely 18 years old that night," she wrote in a text message to The News.

"He had no criminal past. He never even had traffic tickets. The whole thing started with partying. There was plenty of alcohol and other substances ... There was a teenage boy fight over a girl. Everything took a turn to 'out of control' and then one man lost his life and another was seriously injured.

"My client approached me about pleading guilty in the case. He wanted to take responsibility for his actions. He has a lot of remorse."

Two juveniles were also in the car with Lucero. Both were prosecuted and "found to be amenable to be treated as juveniles and have been committed to Children Youth And Families Department," assistant District Attorney Brian Stover said.

Stover said both will be released from CYFD custody when they turn 21.