Gunshots lead to lockdown of schools in Alpine, warrant for man’s arrest

This story has been updated from an original Tuesday version.

ALPINE — An arrest warrant has been issued for an Alpine man who allegedly opened fire on a man’s pickup truck Tuesday afternoon, initiating a brief lockdown of Alpine ISD schools, according to police officials. The Tuesday shooting incident is one of several events impacting an Alpine family that has seen a tragic death and the arrest of family members in the past two months.

In a text and Instagram message to the community, Alpine ISD Superintendent Michelle Rinehart said the district put schools on a lockdown for about six minutes before a return call from police gave her the “all clear” to remove it.

The Alpine Police Department issued a warrant for Juan Jose Tafoya, 30, of Alpine, after he allegedly fired at least two shots at a truck owned by Justin Vega Lara, 37, of Alpine, near the 1100 block of North 9th Street just after 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to Police Chief Darrell Losoya. Lara and other occupants were in the truck when it was fired upon, but no one was injured. The names of other occupants were not released because of an ongoing investigation into the incident, Losoya said.

Justin Lara is the brother of Ismael Javier “I.J.” Vega, 23, of Alpine, who died of a suspected fentanyl overdose on February 15. Authorities in Sierra Blanca then arrested Vega’s other brother, Willie “Sapo” Lara III, and two others on March 4 for possession of narcotics (including fentanyl) with intent to distribute. According to a complaint filed in federal court, those arrested said the plan was to sell the fentanyl in Alpine.

Justin Lara — the target of Tuesday’s assault — was then arrested on March 7 after officers found methamphetamine and marijuana in his vehicle, and he was jailed briefly in Brewster County before being released on bond. According to police officials, the arrest was not directly related to his brother’s death or the other brother’s arrest, but it was the result of a Department of Public Safety warrant for Justin Lara after he failed to appear as promised to give information to authorities about both of those cases.

Justin Lara was detained after the shooting but was not arrested, according to police. The Facebook account of his mother, Marta Vega of Alpine, posted Tuesday blaming Tafoya for the shooting. “I just want to say [to] Juan Tafoya you are very lucky the bullet hit my son’s truck and not my son,” the post stated. “You are a coward.” Marta Vega also suffered a suspected fentanyl overdose at the same time her son I.J. died, but survived after treatment at the Big Bend Regional Medical Center, according to police and family friends.

Police did detain Justin Lara to question him, but he still is considered a victim of the shooting, Losoya said. Tuesday’s shooting is believed to be part of a domestic dispute over a woman who has been involved with both Tafoya and Justin Lara, according to police and the Facebook post on Marta Lara’s account.

Tafoya shot at Justin Lara from a vehicle, then fled, the police chief said. Police do not want to describe that vehicle because they believe Tafoya has switched to another vehicle.

Superintendent Rinehart said the police called her quickly after the shots were reported, and because of a relative proximity of the shooting to the elementary school — about half a mile — they advised a lockdown. When Rinehart posted her message to the community on enacting then lifting the lockdown, she noted that a suspect had been apprehended. Losoya said that initially police gave her that information because they had arrived at the scene of the shooting and thought that Justin Lara was the shooter; the 911 call from a neighbor noted his white pickup truck as the suspected vehicle used in the shooting. When they apprehended Justin Lara, they gave the “all clear” to Rinehart.

Rinehart said that while the incident was not an immediate danger to the elementary campus, it was clear that law enforcement needed to act on it as a precaution and advise the lockdown.  “I’m proud of local law enforcement that were right on top of this and with the immediate notification to schools as a precautionary measure,” Rinehart said. “Our staff did a great job of immediately implementing our emergency procedures. I’m just glad that everyone was safe throughout the situation and afterward as well.”