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Juvenile critically injured in Ontario shooting after parking lot fight
ONTARIO – Three men have been charged in connection with a weekend shooting that sparked a police pursuit and left a 16-year-old hospitalized with a gunshot wound.
Those arrested included the man accused of firing several rounds during the episode, the driver of a Jeep in which the shooter was a passenger, and the driver of a second vehicle who attempted to escape police after the injured teen was dropped at the hospital, according to court records.
The men were arrested over the weekend as police investigated what started as a fight between two groups in a parking lot and evolved into the shooting. The 16-year-old remains hospitalized in Boise with a condition that has improved from critical.
Gunner Ray Hernandez, 18, of Ontario, is accused of being the shooter in court documents.
He is being held in the Malheur County jail on $695,000 security, charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, all felonies. He also was accused of five counts of recklessly endangering a person and three counts second-degree criminal mischief for damaging three cars.
Anthony C. Orosco, 18, of Ontario, is accused of being the driver in the vehicle carrying Hernandez and then hindering police efforts to locate him.
He is in the Malheur County Jail on $135,000 security for two counts of hindering prosecution, one count of third-degree assault, five counts of recklessly endangering another person, three counts of second-degree criminal mischief and one count of tampering with evidence.
Raul Herrera Ramos Jr., 28, listed as a transient, is accused of being the driver of the second vehicle, which was stolen. He was arrested after two police pursuits, court records show.
Ramos is in the Malheur County Jail on $130,000 security, charged with two counts of eluding a police officer, one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, one count of possession of a stolen vehicle, all felonies. He also is charged with one count of attempting to elude, three counts of recklessly endangering another person, second-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and failure to perform duties of a driver.
In 2018, he pleaded guilty to recklessly endangering, resisting arrest and attempting to elude police. He was to serve 18 months probation under a plea agreement but a warrant has been out since June 2018 because he failed to appear for his sentencing, according to court records.
A grand jury is scheduled to consider the cases on Thursday. If indictments are issued, an arraignment is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 5, in Malheur County Circuit Court.
Court records portray a chaotic scene after the fight in the parking lot of Albertsons, on Alameda Drive. Police earlier said that two groups that included juveniles and young adults engaged in the fight.
Orosco later gave police his account of what happened next.
Orsoco said he got into his mother’s Jeep Cherokee “accompanied by front-seat passenger Gunner Hernandez and fled the scene,” according to a police affidavit.
“Anthony took off at a high rate of speed,” the affidavit said. “As he sped off, Gunner Hernandez fired multiple .40-caliber handgun rounds out of his window and over the top of the Jeep at the individuals involved in the fight.”
One round struck a 16-year-old Ontario boy.
“There were an estimated eight people in the line of fire,” the affidavit said.
The charging documents indicated three private vehicles were damaged by gunfire.
Ontario police said the wounded teen was loaded into a car and dropped off about four blocks away at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Ontario.
The court documents accuse Ramos of being the driver of a car that sped away when police gave pursuit. The car crashed at Evergreen Cemetery on Southwest Park Avenue and Ramos fled, the court records said.
A police officer tracked Orosco to his mother’s home in Ontario based on a tip. Under questioning, Orosco said he had picked up Hernandez earlier in downtown Ontario. He gave conflicting accounts about whether he knew him, the affidavit said.
Police later recovered his mother’s Jeep in an Ontario mobile home court.
Court records accuse Orosco of tampering with a firearm and a car and helping Hernandez avoid arrest.
According to the court records, Ramos, the driver of the other car, stole a second vehicle over the weekend and attempted to elude police again on New Year’s Eve. Details weren’t immediately available on where or when he was arrested.
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