A second person involved in a botched robbery attempt in Gwinnett County on Tuesday night has died, according to police.
Erik Vargas was one of two suspects shot during the attempted robbery on Indian Trail Road, Gwinnett police said Thursday in a news release. The other victim, 16-year-old Junior Lanuza-Gutierrez, died shortly after the shooting.
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Police said three of the victims’ accomplices lied to them about what led to the deadly shooting. The trio initially told investigators the shooting occurred during a road-rage incident. They said an unknown number of shots were fired from another vehicle into their Nissan Altima as they exited I-85 onto Indian Trail Lilburn Road about 10:30 p.m.
Police discovered that was not true, however.
“Detectives have determined this incident was not the result of road rage, but rather stemmed from a robbery attempt,” Gwinnett police spokesman Sgt. Jake Smith said.
According to police, the five people in the Nissan tried to rob someone in a parking lot on Indian Trail Road when their alleged target opened fire on the vehicle, striking Vargas and Lanuza-Gutierrez.
The three suspects who were not injured were identified as Harry Richardson, 20; Anthoney Esquero, 18; and Kevin Gallardo, 17.
Credit: WSB-TV
Credit: WSB-TV
All three are charged with felony murder and criminal attempt at robbery, but they will likely face additional charges since another one of their accomplices died, police said.
Authorities are still searching for the person who fired the shots, according to Smith.
Anyone with information about the case 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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