Death, lies and video: Boyfriend arrested in woman's shooting death in far East El Paso
A couple was seen arguing the night an El Paso man allegedly killed his girlfriend by shooting her multiple times at an apartment complex in the far East Side, court documents stated.
The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force arrested Gabriel Samuel Arnold, 24, on Monday, April 22, following an El Paso police homicide investigation into the shooting death of 26-year-old Kimberly Alaniss Segovia on March 27, officials said.
Detectives learned that Arnold allegedly told a friend that he shot his girlfriend 16 times with a 9 mm handgun and that he did not want to go to jail for the rest of his life, according to a complaint affidavit filed by a detective.
Arnold is jailed on a $1 million bond at the El Paso County Jail Downtown. No lawyer is listed for him in court records.
The fatal shooting occurred while Arnold was free on bond while awaiting trial on the DWI charge and a burglary of a building case from last year, according to El Paso County court records.
The affidavit details how detectives with the Crimes Against Persons Unit compiled a timeline of Arnold's actions before and after Segovia was shot about 12:30 a.m. March 27 outdoors at the Tres Palmas Apartments, 4470 Rich Beem Blvd., near Montana Avenue.
Investigators learned Segovia had been in a relationship with Arnold and her tan Nissan Altima was missing. The car was later found abandoned at the Eisenhower public housing apartments in the Northeast, the affidavit stated.
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The next day, police arrested Arnold at his Northeast El Paso home on a bond revocation of a personal recognizance bond in an unrelated driving-while-intoxicated case from last year.
At police headquarters, detectives interviewed Arnold, who told them he used to live with Segovia in Albuquerque, the affidavit stated. Arnold said he had returned to El Paso earlier in the week because they had broken up. Arnold said he had been with Segovia and they had an argument, but he claimed she had dropped him off on Montana Avenue and U.S. 54 in the Central area and that he was never in the East Side with her.
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Arnold then stopped the interview and asked for a lawyer. He was released from jail on the DWI bond revocation case on March 30 on another personal recognizance bond, known as a PR bond, which only requires a signature and a promise to show up to court.
Bartender saw couple argue
About 9:50 p.m. March 26: Security camera video obtained by investigators showed Segovia's car arrive at a parking lot. Segovia, who was driving, and Arnold, who was in the passenger seat, entered a bar in the 2200 block of Zaragoza Road near Tierra Este Road on the far East Side. The business is not named in the affidavit.
A bartender recalled seeing the couple. The bartender could not hear clearly, but Arnold appeared upset and yelling at Segovia, who kept telling him to lower his voice and that he was embarrassing her. The pair were not with anyone else and left together after Segovia paid for the food and drinks.
11:37 p.m.: Security camera video shows the couple leave the bar in Segovia's car, according to the affidavit.
Circle K customers saw couple arguing
About 12:10 a.m. March 27: Security video shows the couple drive up to a Circle K at 12681 Montana Ave. next to Rich Beem Boulevard near the Tres Palmas Apartments, the affidavit stated.
Detectives identified and interviewed three customers who were at the Circle K at the same time. The men told investigators that Arnold appeared drunk, or high on drugs, and approached them outside the store asking if he could get a ride to the Northeast.
"Don't give him a ride, he is going to rob you," yelled out a woman (Segovia) at a car at the gas pumps, the men told police, according to the affidavit. Arnold had a satchel across his chest that the men suspected contained a gun.
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"Shut the (expletive) up, (expletive)," Arnold reportedly yelled at Segovia as he walked back to the car and appeared to continue to argue with her, the men told police. The customers entered the store but kept watching the couple through the windows to make sure the man didn't assault the woman.
12:27 a.m.: Video shows the car leave the Circle K parking lot with Segovia driving and Arnold in the passenger seat.
Woman killed in shooting at far East El Paso apartment complex
Detectives noted that Segovia was shot multiple times at the Tres Palmas Apartments about 3-4 minutes after leaving the nearby Circle K.
About 12:31 a.m.: A resident called 911 to report hearing gunshots at the apartment complex.
12:54 a.m.: Police arrived to find Segovia with several gunshot wounds. She was declared dead at the Hospitals of Providence East Campus on Joe Battle Boulevard.
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Segovia's cellphone was located next to where she collapsed at the apartments. Crime-scene investigators found Arnold's fingerprints on the phone, the affidavit stated. Segovia's Nissan Altima was missing.
12:49 a.m.: The affidavit stated Arnold was seen on security camera video parking a car near the intersection of Edgar Park Avenue and Leo Street in the Northeast. Video recorded Arnold "staggering" and meeting up with a person, who exited an apartment on Edgar Park Avenue, the affidavit stated.
12:57 a.m.: Arnold and another man were recorded on video walking back to the car and driving it north on Leo Street.
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1:10 a.m.: Security camera video showed two men exit Segovia's Nissan Altima, which was later found abandoned on Anvil Place at the Eisenhower public housing apartments in the Northeast. The car had bullet holes in the front grill and the front passenger-side lamp. The two passenger-side tires were flat, the affidavit stated.
2:31 a.m.: Video showed a vehicle pick up Arnold and the other man on Anvil Place before dropping them off. They later arrived and entered the apartment in the 3900 block of Edgar Park Avenue. The other man was allegedly later identified by detectives as a friend of Arnold.
Suspected killer allegedly had gun, pink wallet
On April 9, investigators served a search warrant at the apartment on Edgar Park Avenue, the affidavit stated.
The apartment's resident told investigators that he received calls and messages from Arnold and another friend asking for a ride or help changing a tire on Eisenhower Avenue, next to Anvil Place. The resident didn't have a car, so he couldn't help them. The two friends showed up at the apartment about 30 minutes later after possibly arriving in a car from a ridehailing company.
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The friend who lives in the apartment told detectives that Arnold was in possession of a handgun, a pink wallet and the New Mexico driver's license of a woman, the affidavit stated. The friend told detectives that Arnold allegedly said he had shot his girlfriend 16 times and that he didn't want to go to jail.
Another friend then allegedly did a factory reset on Arnold's cellphone and took the gun, the pink wallet and driver's license. The gun's ammo magazine was empty when the gun was taken away from Arnold, the friend from the apartment told investigators, according to the affidavit.
The friend did not know what became of the gun, wallet and other objects. The affidavit mentioned that "investigators were able to corroborate the evidence obtained and collected."
On Monday after an arrest warrant on a murder charge was issued, the U.S. Marshal's Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and police arrested Arnold without incident in the 8500 block of Edgar Park Avenue, officials said. He remains jailed.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso man arrested on murder charge in girlfriend's shooting death
