Police said three suspects lied to them about an attempted robbery that led to a deadly shooting in Gwinnett County on Tuesday night.
Now they’re facing murder charges after a teenager, who police said was one of their accomplices, was killed in what was first described as road rage.
Harry Richardson, 20, Anthoney Esquero, 18, and Kevin Gallardo, 17, are in custody in connection with the death of 16-year-old Junior Lanuza Gutierrez, officials said. Gutierrez was a former student at Dunwoody High School but was no longer enrolled, the DeKalb County school district confirmed.
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Erik Vargas, 20, was also shot during the incident, Gwinnett police spokesman Sgt. Jake Smith said in a news release. Vargas was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Investigators previously said the shooting was a road-rage incident. The men told investigators they exited I-85 onto Indian Trail Lilburn Road about 10:30 p.m. and an unknown number of shots were fired between that point and Dickens Road.
Police later determined that was not true.
“Detectives have determined this incident was not the result of road rage, but rather stemmed from a robbery attempt,” police said.
Investigators said the five people were in a gray Nissan Altima and tried to rob someone in a parking lot on Indian Trail Road.
Smith said the intended target shot at their car, and the crew drove off.
“The occupants made up a story about being the victims of road rage and called police,” Smith said.
Richardson, Esquero and Gallardo are each charged with criminal attempt at robbery in addition to felony murder. According to Georgia law, a person can be charged with murder if they participate in a felony that causes the death of another person.
All three were booked into the Gwinnett County Detention Center.
An investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact Gwinnett police at 770-513-5300. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
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