One man is dead and one is wounded after two shooting incidents in one week in Lovelock. Lovelock Police Chief Michael Mancebo said he believes the incidents were the city’s first two shootings of the year and said that two such incidents in one week “was not normal for the city.”
Suspect Jose Javier Figueroa, 21, was arrested a few hours after Joshua Scott MacDonald, 39, was found dead due to a gunshot to the chest according to the Lovelock Police Department.
The victim was discovered after city police and sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported shooting at 150 Main Street at about 10:54 p.m. on Tuesday, December 3, 2020.
Law enforcement searched for Figueroa after witnesses identified him as the alleged shooter.
“A search for the suspected assailant was organized enlisting the assistance of the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office, Lovelock Tribal Police and the Nevada Highway Patrol,” states Lovelock Police Chief Michael Mancebo in a November 9 news release regarding the incident.
At 12:55 a.m. on Wednesday, November 4, Figueroa was apprehended.
The suspect was charged with one count of open murder and one count of illegally concealing a firearm.
According to a Pershing County Sheriff’s Report, Figueroa was previously booked into the Pershing County Jail on October 13, 2020 for criminal contempt/violation of a court order.
MacDonald was previously booked into the Pershing County Jail on September 1, 2020 for ex-felon failure to register and failure to appear-traffic citation according to another report.
A preliminary hearing in Justice Court for Figueroa has been set for November 20 at 9 a.m.
No bail was set at his arraignment and Public Defender Steve Cochran will represent Figueroa.
ALLEGED BURGLAR SHOT
In a second shooting in about one week, a suspected vehicle burglar was shot after he was found inside a vehicle at Sixth Street and Dartmouth Avenue on November 10 at 8:45 p.m.
“Upon arriving at the scene, officers encountered a man lying in the street with a gunshot wound,” Chief Mancebo said in his second news release this month. “Shortly thereafter, EMS personnel arrived and began treating him.”
Eyewitnesses on scene reported three people confronted the man who was reportedly inside one of their vehicles. The man allegedly “exited the vehicle and rushed at the individuals” according to witnesses. One individual had a 12-gauge shotgun and the alleged burglar was shot in the abdomen when he attempted to grab the firearm according to the news release.
No arrests have been made so far but the incident remains under investigation. The man was transported by helicopter to Renown Medical Center for treatment. As of Friday, the man’s medical condition was unknown according to Chief Mancebo.
Chief Mancebo said he believes the two recent incidents were the only shootings so far this year in Lovelock. Two shootings in one week were unusual and homicides are rare in Lovelock.
“This is not normal for the city,” Chief Mancebo said on Thursday. “I want to say the last homicide I am aware of in the city limits was July, 1992.”
