ST. GEORGE — The victims of a gang-related shooting in St. George apparently fled to a Mesquite, Nev., hospital to avoid police involvement Sunday, investigators said.
The two suspects, believed to have gang ties, were in front of their residence on the 2600 block of 610 North when three men from a rival gang showed up and the two groups started shouting at each other, police said.
Vincent Garibay, 18, and Joe Martinez, 23, went back into the house, retrieved a shotgun and handgun and started shooting at the victims about 1:30 a.m., said St. George police officer Johnny Heppler.
Garibay hit an 18-year-old man in the leg with the shotgun, and all three fled in a vehicle, Heppler said. Instead of going to a St. George hospital, the victim's friends drove him across the state line to Mesquite and told police who responded that the shooting had occurred in Mesquite.
Mesquite police said they eventually discovered that the three men, all in their late teens and early 20s, had lied, and the Mesquite officers contacted St. George police Sunday afternoon.
Garibay was booked into jail for investigation of attempted murder and aggravated assault. Martinez was booked for investigation of aggravated assault. A relative of Martinez, Angela Martinez, was arrested for investigation of obstruction of justice.
"This type of an incident is not common," Heppler said. "We don't have that much of a gang problem, but it's certainly present here."
The shooting was the second gang-related shooting in St. George this month. The first one, in which an 18-year-old woman was shot in the arm while sitting in a car, occurred July 8. Heppler said the two incidents are unrelated.
— Lana Groves