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Woman dies after failed armed robbery in Las Cruces park

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The 19-year-old woman who died after a shooting near a Las Cruces park last month had conspired with two other men for an armed robbery gone wrong, according to court documents obtained by KTSM.

As KTSM previously reported, 19-year-old Julia Clark was killed in a shooting near Salopek Park in Las Cruces on Thursday afternoon, September 4. Another 19-year-old man, whose name was not released, was also shot but suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

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According to court documents, Clark, along with 19-year-old Esteban Munoz and 18-year-old Elijah Sambrano, planned to ambush the victim and 18-year-old Apolinar Rosales in the park to steal a gun.

After searching Clark’s cell phone, authorities found texts allegedly explaining the robbery plan.

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The texts discussed how Clark kept his position open and would inform Sambrano of everything he was doing. Sambrano also told him where to go, where to park, his reasons for wanting to go to the park and what he would do after the robbery, according to court documents.

The scheme began when Clark drove the victim and Rosales to Anthony, Texas, to purchase firearms.

Rosales stated that the victim asked him to come with her because she did not trust Clark because he was friends with people who “didn’t like him,” according to court documents.

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After purchasing the firearm, Clark insisted on stopping to “smoke” at Salopek Park, and that’s where the ambush took place.

According to court documents, the victim stated that as Clark stopped the Jeep he was driving and parked it, a white Chrysler 300 parked behind them and two men got out with guns in their hands.

According to court documents, one of those men was standing near the passenger side of the Jeep where the victim was sitting and told the victim to give him everything he had. The victim threw a newly purchased gun from the vehicle at Sambrano, then heard gunshots and saw Rosales in front of the Jeep.

The victim squatted on the seat and then felt pain in his leg and saw that he had been shot. He then looked back and saw Clark collapsed on the ground.

Panicked, the victim quickly got out of the vehicle and started asking for help from the male suspect nearby. The victim stated that he believed the man who shot him was someone he knew, whom he identified as “Ilyas,” according to court documents.

Later, after the men in the Chrysler fled in the vehicle, Rosales said he was forced to leave because he fought back and continued to flee on foot.

A witness at the scene who was parked at the park gave his own statement and said he saw a man wearing all black, including a face covering and a hoodie, crouching near his location, according to court documents.

The witness saw the Chrysler pull behind the Jeep and two men get out of it, according to court documents. He also saw two men in the Jeep get out of the vehicle as if the four were about to fight. The crouching man was then seen approaching the men who got out of the jeep and started shooting at them.

The witness said a man in a red shirt got out of the Jeep and started fighting back, and he saw a woman and another man get shot.

Two men from the Chrysler and the man wearing all black got into the vehicle and fled the scene. The witness also said the man in the red shirt asked him to help his friend, who was shot and then ran away, according to court documents.

Clark, who was shot in the head, was flown to the University of El Paso Medical Center, where he died Sept. 6, according to LCPD.

Munoz, Sambrano and Rosales were arrested in connection with this shooting.

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Munoz was charged with felonies including armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery; Sambrano is charged with aggravated battery resulting in death or bodily harm and tampering with evidence; Rosales is charged with felonies such as premeditated murder and tampering with evidence, and misdemeanors such as resisting or obstructing, according to LCPD.

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