A Sierra Vista man who says he shot an acquaintance last summer in order to protect himself, his girlfriend, and their young daughter will not be prosecuted, according to the Cochise County Attorney’s Office.
Jesus E. Loreto Jr. was confronted by Luis Alonso Armenta Rivas on the evening of June 21, 2021 at Loreto’s apartment. The police report released last week notes Loreta shot at Armenta, 23, six times after Armenta displayed a Beretta 9mm handgun he had taken from a U.S. Army military police officer.
Armenta was fatally struck once in the left chest and twice in the torso from a distance of 14 feet. The Beretta was holding 15 rounds but had not been fired, according to the report.
A toxicology report prepared during the autopsy showed Armenta had a blood alcohol concentration of .101. “There were also positive quantitative results for Alprazolam, Cannabinoids, and Benzoylecgonine (the major metabolite of Cocaine),” the police report notes.
On June 8, nearly one year after the shooting, the Sierra Vista Police Department closed the investigation when Deputy County Attorney Doyle Johnstun announced the case was not being accepted for prosecution. The reason given by Johnstun was “insufficient evidence to ensure a reasonable likelihood of a conviction.”
Often referred to as the stand your ground or castle doctrine statute, Arizona law states “a person is justified in threatening or using physical force against another when and to the extent a reasonable person would believe that physical force is immediately necessary to protect himself against the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful physical force.”
The law gives a prosecutor discretion to not initiate criminal charges if the “use and level of force” can be shown up front as being reasonable. If prosecution was undertaken, the county attorney’s office would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Loreto’s claim of self-defense was not justified.
Just minutes before the shooting, Armenta drove to the home of the mother of Loreto’s girlfriend in an attempt to locate Loreto. Armenta appeared agitated and drunk, the mother told investigators.
Accompanying Armenta was his friend Michael Molina Gutierrez, an Army MP. It was Molina’s Beretta which Armenta possessed after taking it from Molina while the two were at a local club drinking.
Armenta left the club with the gun so Molina followed in his own vehicle, according to the report. After looking for Loreto at the girlfriend’s mother’s home, Armenta mentioned plans to go to Loreto’s apartment a few blocks away.
This prompted the girlfriend’s mother to call her daughter as a warning. The mother then drove to Loreto’s apartment in an effort to ensure her daughter and grandchild could get away if there was trouble, the report notes.
Multiple witnesses said Armenta went into Loreto’s apartment while Molina stayed outside. When Loreto and Arment came out, Molina said he thought Armenta was leaving so he turned to walk toward his vehicle. That is when he heard shots and ran back to find Armenta on the ground.
The first call to 911 came in at 10:42 p.m.
While Molina claims he did not see the shooting, Loreto’s girlfriend had a very close viewpoint. As Armenta and Loreto came out of the apartment, she was exchanging words with Armenta about being disrespected. Armenta then displayed a gun and Loreto fired in self-defense while standing in front of his girlfriend as a shield.
An off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent who lived in the area rushed outside after hearing multiple shots fired. The agent kicked away the gun which was next to Armenta and warned Molina to not touch the gun. He also ensured Loreto did not leave the scene until police responded, the report notes.
Loreto, who said he did not know Molina, was taken to the Sierra Vista Police Department for questioning before being released a few hours later. The investigation into the shooting was finally forwarded to the Cochise County Attorney’s Office in mid-February.
The official police report mentions a conversation overheard by one of the officers on scene. According to the officer, Molina was speaking on the phone with an Army supervisor who advised Molina to remain silent and request an attorney.
Molina would not agree to a consent search of his truck, which was later towed to the police station for a court-authorized search.