2nd suspected shooter arrested in deadly El Paso 2020 cocaine deal

Finger-pointing accusations are flying among two men charged in a deadly shooting during a cocaine deal on a Central El Paso street near the Spaghetti Bowl in the summer of 2020.

Mathew Faulks and Darian Malik Hunter were both charged with murder in the shooting of Jose Carlos Olivas in the 4300 block of East Missouri Avenue on July 30, 2020, according to El Paso court and jail records.

Olivas, who was shot in the head, died at the age of 28 on Feb. 24, 2021, after being hospitalized on life support for nearly seven months.

Hunter, 28, was recently arrested in Virginia, transported to El Paso and booked into the El Paso County Jail in Downtown on a murder charge on Friday, April 5.

On Monday, April 8, Faulks pleaded guilty in the 346th District Court to murder and aggravated assault and was sentenced to 14 years in state prison, according to court records. Faulks has been jailed since Aug. 25, 2020, according to a jail log.

Hunter's defense attorney, Felix Valenzuela, claimed his client was not involved in the homicide and that after spending a few years in jail awaiting trial, Faulks named Hunter to investigators as part of a deal for leniency.

"It's a self-serving assertion that Mr. Faulks gives the police department that helps lower his sentence to 14 years," Valenzuela said Tuesday at an online teleconference detention hearing for Hunter.

Hunter is a disabled, honorably discharged U.S. Army veteran who deployed to Kuwait and injured his back in the service, Valenzuela said while showing a PowerPoint presentation featuring photos of Hunter in uniform and a timeline of the case.

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Seeking for a magistrate judge to lower his client's bond, Valenzuela described Hunter as an "altruistic individual who helps other disabled veterans" and added that Hunter is his family's sole provider, works as an administrative assistant and attends a technical college.

Valenzuela argued that the prosecution has "a very, very weak case" based on the word of a person facing prison for a murder.

El Paso police detectives already knew there were two shooters and the new information from the codefendant had details that had not been made public and were corroborated by evidence, Assistant District Attorney Talisa Gutierrez countered at the hearing.

"He wasn't giving an offhand crazy story," Gutierrez said.

El Paso man fatally shot during cocaine deal in summer 2020

The shooting occurred about 10:40 p.m. on the Thursday night of July 30, in the COVID-19 pandemic summer of 2020.

According to a criminal complaint affidavit filed by an El Paso police homicide detective, officers arrived to find Olivas lying on the street next to the driver's side of his black Lexus SUV, which was parked facing west on the 4300 block of East Missouri Avenue, the affidavit stated.

Olivas had been shot in the head and was rushed in critical condition to University Medical Center of El Paso, where he was placed on life support.

During the investigation, detectives learned from Olivas' friends that he had planned to sell cocaine to a man that he knew. Olivas was at a friend's apartment when he received a telephone call and walked outside, the affidavit stated.

A friend told police that Olivas was outside for about 15 minutes before gunshots rang out. The friend ran outside to find Olivas shot and lying in the street. The friend began yelling for help while trying to keep Olivas awake, the affidavit stated. The friends did not see who Olivas had met with.

Missouri Avenue shooting caught on video

Detectives obtained a security camera video showing an unknown man on a sidewalk shooting a gun in the direction of Olivas' vehicle before the shooter crossed the Missouri and continued firing toward the SUV.

At one point in the video, the shooter is not firing his gun, but shots can still be heard, indicating there was more than one shooter. The shooter in the video then enters the passenger side of what appears to be Mitsubishi Eclipse driven by another person, the affidavit stated.

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Crime scene investigators found bullet casings of two different sizes, 9 mm and .45-caliber, and also found cocaine residue on a driver's side seat in Olivas' vehicle, the document stated.

In August 2020, Faulks was arrested in connection with the shooting.

Crime Stoppers tips point to 'Malik'

On Sept. 21 and 22, 2020: An anonymous tipster called Crime Stoppers of El Paso on consecutive days identifying the shooter as "Malik." The caller provided a photo and said "Malik" had resided at the Casa Barranca apartments on Resler Drive on the West Side but was now hiding in Northeast El Paso, the affidavit stated.

Investigators used social media, law enforcement databases and photos of Texas drivers' licenses to allegedly identify Hunter as "Malik."

On Sept. 25, 2020: EPPD patrol officers pulled over Hunter at a traffic stop while he was driving his blue Dodge Charger on the Patriot Freeway. The car smelled of marijuana. A .45-caliber magazine for a Glock handgun was found in the car, the affidavit stated.

Hunter was taken to El Paso Police Headquarters to be interviewed by detectives. He requested a lawyer, but did say that he knew one of the defendants in the shooting. Afterward, Hunter left El Paso, the affidavit stated.

Four years later, 2nd shooter suspect arrested

On Jan. 30, 2024: One of the persons involved in the shooting — identified by Hunter's attorney as Faulks — came forward to investigators providing details that had not been made public, including information about the cocaine deal inside Olivas' vehicle, the affidavit stated.

During the shooting, Hunter allegedly reached out and fired his gun out of the backseat of a Mitsubishi Eclipse toward Olivas' vehicle, which police noted was struck by gunfire. The codefendant said Hunter owned a Glock. The Eclipse was driven by a third person, the affidavit stated.

Police officials have not disclosed if anyone else has been arrested in the homicide. The affidavit does not disclose a possible motive why the shooters killed Olivas during the drug deal.

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The affidavit stated that detectives believe there were two shooters, but investigators could not determine which shot killed Olivas.

At this week's detention hearing, Valenzuela, the defense attorney, said that Hunter had no prior criminal convictions and argued that he was not a danger to the community. Valenzuela was seeking to get Hunter's bond as low as possible to allow him to get released on bail while awaiting trial.

Magistrate Judge Antonio Aun lowered a bond that had been set at $750,000 to $200,000. Appearing via video from jail, a quick look of disappointment flashed on Hunter's face as the judge announced his decision.

Hunter remains held at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 2 accused of murder in 2020 El Paso cocaine deal shooting