Warrant: Suspect in deadly nightclub shooting feared for his life, bond hearing set
A Snyder man arrested last week in connection with a deadly shooting in April at an East Lubbock nightclub, told homicide detectives he feared for his life and began firing indiscriminately, according to court documents obtained by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
However, investigators believe the evidence they have shows 26-year-old Doroteo Alonso intentionally and knowingly shot and killed Lorenzo Rene Soto on April 21 at the Cowpokes parking lot in the 2200 block of I-27.
Alonso was arrested in Snyder on May 15 after investigators with the Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit obtained a warrant for his arrest.
He was held at the Scurry County Jail until Monday when he was booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on a count of murder. He remains held at the jail as of Wednesday. His bond is set at $300,000.
He is expected to appear Tuesday in the 137th District Court after his attorney, Mark Snodgrass, requested a hearing to reduce his bond, which Snodgrass described as "excessive and oppressive."
The charge stems from an investigation that began when Lubbock police responding to a shots fired call at the night club found Soto lying on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds near a white Ford F-150 pickup truck.
Soto was taken by ambulance to University Medical Center where he died.
Witnesses at the scene told police the shooter was a Hispanic male who was involved in a fight between two groups inside the club earlier that night.
Meanwhile, investigators learned the pickup truck was registered to Alonso's brother.
Witnesses told police that Alonso, another one of his brothers and a friend, fought a group of people that included Soto's nephew.
Bouncers at the club intervened and ejected the groups.
Alonso's group walked to his brother's pickup truck, which was open. However, the group couldn't leave because the key to the truck was lost during the fray.
Alonso, who spoke to investigators with his attorney, reportedly said he sat in the rear passenger seat of his brother's truck because he was dizzy from being kicked in the head during the fight.
Meanwhile, he said Soto and the people they fought with at the club approached them at the parking lot.
He reportedly said Soto confronted his brother about the fight. He said his brother told Soto that they didn't want any problems and that "it was done," the affidavit states.
Alonso said he remained in the back seat because he was "scared for his life," and grabbed the gun his brother kept inside the truck, telling investigators that he didn't know whether the weapon was loaded or not.
However, he reportedly said he began firing when Soto punched his brother and "made a movement toward his pocket". Alonso said he wasn't aiming at anyone, saying "it was his reaction," the affidavit states.
However, investigators noted that witness statements and video from security cameras indicated Soto next to several people but he was the only one struck by the bullets. Witnesses also told investigators neither Soto nor the people he was with displayed weapons during the confrontation at the parking lot.
Alonso said he ran away after shooting, crossing the interstate and ditched the weapon in the fenced in area of a nearby warehouse.
Investigators found a black .38 caliber pistol in the area Alonso described, the affidavit states.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Warrant: Suspect in deadly Lubbock club shooting feared for his life
