A SWAT K-9 officer watches as SWAT teams make entry into the suspect's residence.
Two Carson City brothers were arrested Monday morning after a drug deal went bad and left one person dead.
Jesus Garcia-Manriquez, 18, and Allen Garcia-Manriquez, 19, were arrested shortly after 8:30 a.m. after Carson City SWAT entered their apartment in the 900 block of 5th Street, across from Harbin Street.
The Carson City Sheriff’s Office was led to the brothers after receiving reports of shots fired at 12:39 a.m. at Blackwell’s Pond Park in north Carson City. Around the same time, deputies received reports that a man arrived at Carson-Tahoe Regional Medical Center with a single gunshot wound. The victim was identified as 18-year-old Grant Watkins of Carson City.
Sheriff Ken Furlong said Watkins’s friend was at the incident at the time of the shooting and drove Watkins to Carson-Tahoe. Watkins was in critical condition and transported to Renown Medical Center by CareFlight, but died at 2:09 a.m. at the hospital.
Furlong said the investigation indicates Watkins and hi-s friend met with the brothers near Blackwell’s Pond Park, at Windridge Drive near Scotch Pine Drive for a drug transaction.
The incident occurred because Watkins was attempting sell three ounces of marijuana to the Garcia brothers. Furlong said the marijuana holds a street value of about $400. Witnesses said both suspects were carrying weapons at the time of the transaction, though officials have not been able to determine that. No weapons have been recovered, but based on shell casings found at the scene, investigators believe both suspects had semi-automatic handguns. It is believed that one or both suspects fired about four times.
“This was an arranged buy and for whatever reason it went south and erupted immediately into a shooting,” Furlong said. “The victim and suspects knew of each other.”
Investigators were able to identify the suspects, and working with Nevada Highway Patrol and Juvenile Probation, they were able to place surveillance on their apartment. All other residents were evacuated by police and traffic was blocked on Saliman Road, 5th Street and Harbin Street during the operation.
SWAT was able to make entry into the apartment around 8:30 a.m., using an explosive breech. Three people were detained without incident from the apartment, the two brothers and a female.
All three were questioned by detectives, though officials said the brothers were being uncooperative with police. The 17-year-old female was released to her parents.
A search of the apartment allowed detectives to retrieve $10,000 in cash, assorted drug paraphernalia and weights/packing materials.
The Garcia brothers were charged with principal to murder and maintaining a drug house. Their bail was set at $250,000 each. Jesus Garcia also was arrested on an unrelated juvenile probation violation warrant with no bail.
The investigation still is ongoing and active and anyone with information should contact the Carson City Sheriff’s Office at 775-887-2014. Reporting persons may remain anonymous.
Furlong said though the shooting occurred in the Northridge neighborhood, the incident was not centered there. He said it was just used as a meeting spot and there was no threat to any surrounding schools or homes. None of the persons involved in this incident were residents of the residential area, and the nearby public park was not a determining factor.