Winston-Salem.- Three members have pleaded guilty to killing Alberto Ríos Navarrete, who was only 5 years old.
The homicide occurred on July 6, 2019, when the minor received a bullet from outside his home at Cole Village Apartments.
Santiago Rodríguez Marcial and Enedino Vicente Morales, 20, as well as Rudy Gomez-Medina, 18, accepted their guilt before the judge. The crimes they committed were second-degree murder, discharging a firearm in an occupied dwelling and discharging a firearm from a place, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.
Judge Richard Gottlieb sentenced the perpetrators to spend between 13 and 16 years in prison for the murder of Alberto Ríos Navarrete.
The day of the killing
According to the Winston-Salem Police Department, on July 6, 2019, a stray bullet entered the home located at 2941 Cole Ridge Road, Apartment E.
Alberto Ríos Navarrete, who was in that building with his family, was hit by the bullet and was pronounced dead. The same day at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital.
The shot was fired from a 4-door silver car that was on Cole Road and witnesses said that all occupants fired weapons and then fled.
Qelea between gangs
In that car are Santiago Rodríguez Marcial, Enedino Vicente Morales and Rudy Gómez Medina, who belong to a gang.
They shot a rival gang member, who was unharmed, but a bullet entered Alberto’s house and killed him.
Finally, on September 13, 2023, Santiago Rodríguez Marcial, Enedino Vicente Morales and Rudy Gómez Medina, accepted their guilt in the murder.
Despite the punishment against the perpetrators of the killer of the minor, Alberto’s family said in court that they continue to suffer because of the loss of their son in this way, as a “victim of armed violence.”
