Suspects in Duran’s Central Pharmacy shooting each take plea deal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two suspects in an accidental shooting, which injured a man at Duran’s Central Pharmacy in January, each took a plea deal for it.
Court documents show Amanda Sheppard pleaded no contest to tampering with evidence Thursday, while Jonathan Olivas pleaded guilty to a tampering with evidence charge in September.
Sheppard faced charges of unlawful carrying of a firearm in a licensed liquor establishment, negligent use of a firearm and unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon – but those were dropped with the plea deal. Olivas faced just the tampering with evidence charge.
Police say Sheppard and Olivas turned themselves a couple of days after the shooting, which left a man hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.
According to APD, Olivas told detectives that Sheppard had a .22 caliber revolver inside her purse. Then, when the purse dropped to the floor, he heard a “pop.” When he looked to the ground, he saw the gun, picked it up and put it in his pocket before leaving the restaurant.
Surveillance video showed him and Sheppard getting up from the counter at Duran’s and leaving after the gun went off.
Sheppard told detectives she didn’t know the firearm was in her purse because she doesn’t usually carry it. She said she does not have a concealed carry permit. She also believed the “pop” was a highchair hitting the floor.
Olivas will serve 18 months of supervised probation as a part of a conditional discharge. That means he must stay out of trouble and abide by certain conditions.
According to the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office, a judge also granted Sheppard a conditional discharge.
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