An Odessa man arrested last week on a murder charge told authorities the victim’s juvenile sons tried to rob him the day prior and it was one of the son’s cars that was supposed to be shot up.
According to an Odessa Police Department report, officers went to check on Maurice Rogers, 36, on Dec. 28 because he hadn’t shown up to work. When they arrived, they found spent cartridge cases in the street and bullet defects to the front of Rogers’ home in the 1000 block of East 36th Street. Inside, they found Rogers dead.
Surveillance video from a neighbor’s house showed two people approach the house at 10:15 p.m. Dec. 27 and fire multiple shots in the direction of Rogers’ home, the report stated.
People came forward and told detectives Rogers’ sons had attempted to rob Harvey Gutierrez, 31, several hours before the shooting. One witness said Gutierrez told them if he didn’t find Rogers’ sons, he’d go after Rogers, the report stated.
Other witnesses told detectives Ashton Isiah Munoz, 18, and a 16-year-old boy helped Gutierrez carry out retribution against Rogers’ sons, according to the report.
Gutierrez waived his Miranda rights and confessed he, Munoz and the 16-year-old had discussed shooting up one of Rogers’ son’s cars to pay them back for the attempted robbery, the report stated.
Gutierrez “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly caused the death of Maurice Rogers by instructing his associates to discharge firearms at or in his direction,” the report stated.
Gutierrez was arrested on the first-degree felony charge of murder Dec. 29 and was released Monday after posting a $100,000 surety bond.
Munoz and the 16-year-old were arrested on murder warrants in El Paso Dec. 30 and are expected to be driven back to Odessa by the end of the week.
A detention hearing for the younger teen is scheduled for Monday.
