El Paso Sheriff's Office: SUV driver deliberately hit pedestrians in Turf Road deaths

An SUV driver is accused of intentionally killing two pedestrians, including circling back to run over a woman in far East El Paso, court documents stated.

Adrian James Gonzales, 30, was arrested on a capital murder charge in what El Paso County sheriff's investigators described in a criminal complaint as a deliberately fatal hit-and-run collision on Feb. 23, in the 4600 block of Turf Road, located south of Montana Avenue near the El Paso County Jail Annex.

The victims — identified in documents as 34-year-old Enrike Havier Navarro and 40-year-old Noemi Crispin — were off the roadway when they were allegedly struck shortly before 10 a.m. by a Nissan Xterra driven by Gonzales.

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A possible motive in the fatal vehicular assault was not mentioned in a criminal complaint affidavit filed by a sheriff's detective. It has not been disclosed if the pedestrians and the driver knew each other.

Gonzales is listed on court records as having a public defender. The attorney is not named.

Deadly drive on Turf Road

According to the affidavit, a person driving northbound on Turf Road saw a gray SUV speeding southbound driven by a bald man in a red shirt. The driver returned about 10 minutes later to find a man (Navarro) facedown on the ground just off the roadway. The driver stopped to check on the unconscious man and called 911.

At 9:59 a.m., sheriff's deputies, traffic investigators, and Life Ambulance paramedics arrived. They began giving CPR to Navarro, who had face and head injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle. Navarro was taken to the Hospitals of Providence East Campus, where he was pronounced dead about a half hour later, the affidavit stated.

A sheriff's sergeant found the woman (Crispin) dead and with a broken leg in the dirt in the desert east of the roadway about 20 feet from where Navarro had been located, the complaint stated.

Investigators: SUV hit pedestrians off roadway

Traffic investigators saw tire impressions on the dirt shoulder, indicating that both pedestrians "were struck by a vehicle off the roadway," the affidavit stated.

Based on tire marks, fluids, debris and other evidence, investigators determined that the vehicle had been northbound on Turf Road when it veered to the right off the road and struck Navarro.

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After hitting Navarro, "the vehicle conducted a turnaround" and headed southeast about 20 feet off the road and struck and ran over Crispin in the desert before getting back on the street and continuing south, the affidavit stated.

A Nissan emblem was found on the ground, along with other debris.

Another witness reported seeing the gray SUV driving erratically in the desert near where the woman's body was found. The SUV hit a large rock, went airborne and nearly hit the front gates of a residence before continuing southbound on Turf Road, according to the affidavit.

Deputies find SUV, driver in neighborhood

Deputies searching the neighborhood followed tire marks to a home about two blocks away in the 4400 block of Turf Road, where they saw Gonzales, wearing gray slacks and a red tank top, in front of the house, the affidavit stated.

After seeing debris and tire marks leading to the back of the property, deputies got permission to enter and found a gray Nissan Xterra with New Mexico plates. The SUV had extensive damage to its front and its windshield. Debris at the crash matched the vehicle, the affidavit stated.

Gonzales' mother told deputies that her son had been driving the Nissan shortly before deputies arrived, the affidavit stated. Gonzales was arrested.

Gonzales remains incarcerated under a $1 million bond on the capital murder charge at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown. He was also booked in separate assault, family violence and criminal mischief cases with bonds of $5,000 and $1,000 each.

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Under Texas law, capital murder can be charged in the killing of more than one person. If convicted, capital murder is punishable by the death penalty and life in prison without parole.

Last October, El Paso County court records show that Gonzales was sentenced to six months in state jail after pleading guilty to burglary of a building and possession of methamphetamine case. He has other arrests dating back to 2020.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso driver accused of deliberately killing man, woman on Turf Road