Additional suspect arrested in party shooting

The Yuma County Sheriff's Office has made an additional arrest in an incident last month when a man allegedly fired a pistol into a crowd of 17 people after an argument.

Macario Yepez Vallejo Jr., 26, of Yuma was arrested Friday and booked into the Yuma County jail on charges of endangerment and aggravated assault after witnesses reported that he also allegedly fired shots as part of the altercation.

According to Capt. Eben Bratcher of the Yuma County Sheriff's Office, on Nov. 24, Vallejo and Nicolas Amarillas, 44, were at a party at a residence in the 12500 block of South Drysdale Lane when they got into a dispute over an ice chest.

No one at the party was injured.

Bratcher said that witnesses say Vallejo allegedly pulled a firearm and fired three shots into the ground in front of Amarillas as part of the dispute. Amarillas left the party and later allegedly returned with a weapon of his own, which led to the original call and Amarillas' arrest.

“We found physical evidence at the scene to corroborate those statements,” Bratcher said. “When we initially responded to the scene, we found two calibers of shell casings on the ground.”

Bratcher explained that some of the first witnesses questioned about the incident did not mention that Vallejo had also drawn a weapon.

“As investigators continued to interview witnesses, they said Vallejo was first to produce a weapon,” Bratcher said. “Based on those statements and evidence found at the scene, Vallejo was also arrested and booked into jail.”

Amarillas, who is out of custody after posting a $67,500 bond, has been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Vallejo will return to court Tuesday for his arraignment to be told if any charges have been filed against him.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.