On February 13, 2020, Amarillo SWAT and Narcotics agents quietly set up surveillance around a home at 1306 North Buchanan Street.
Their target was 19-year-old Aaron Michael Valdez.
At about about 10:29 a.m., the door to the home opened and Valdez and another person came out.1
SWAT moved in quickly, but Valdez drew a Glock 19 handgun he had concealed in his waistband and pointed it at the approaching officers.
1306 N Buchanan Street Amarillo, Texas (source: Google Maps, 2021)
Before he could pull the trigger, four officers fired eight rounds from their weapons.2 Valdez dropped his gun when the rounds hit him and fell to the ground.
Valdez was taken to Northwest Hospital by ambulance and went into surgery. During surgery, Valdez died from his injuries. His time of death was pronounced at 12:10 p.m.
The 19-year-old's death marked the end of a violent rampage that started in late 2019 and crescendoed with a shooting spree that unfolded just days before.3
February 11, 2020
Map of shooting incidents on February 11, 2020 (Source: Google Maps)
8:04 p.m.
On Tuesday, February 11, 2020 an Amarillo police officer responded to a call for a shooting near Thompson Park.
Officers arrived at a Toot 'n Totum convenience store near 24th Avenue and Dumas Drive just after 8:00 p.m. There, they met Kyle Franklin and his girlfriend, Tabitha Lawlis.
Franklin told officers that at 8:04 p.m. he and Lawlis had been in his car at Thompson Park when they saw two young Hispanic men. The young men were Valdez and his friend, Lozaro Campos.2
According to Franklin, Valdez came up to his car and asked, "Are you Henry?"
Franklin replied that he was not. Then, without warning, Valdez produced a firearm and fired multiple rounds into Franklin's car.
The bullets struck Franklin in the left ear and left arm. His girlfriend, Lawlis, was struck once on the right forearm.
8:21 p.m.
As officers collected the statements of Franklin and Lawlis, 911 dispatchers directed additional units to the 2500-block of North Wilson Street on a shots fired call.2
Police combed the neighborhood and found Lazaro Campos with a gunshot wound to his left leg.
Campos told officers he was with Valdez at Thompson Park when his friend shot Franklin and Lawlis in their car just moments before.
The two had fled the park and were in the 2500-block of Thorne Street when Valdez shot him in the leg and took his car, Campos told police.
8:30 pm
As police were occupied with Franklin, Lawlis, and Campos, dispatchers sent officers to third call further down NE 24th Ave.1
When police arrived at D&T Store at 1712 Northeast 24th Avenue, witnesses described seeing Valdez come into the store with a gun in his hand.
Valdez wore a mask and was covered with blood, the witnesses said.2
As soon as the teenager entered the store, he spun on his heel and walked back out into the parking lot where he fired multiple rounds and then left the scene.
Valdez was quickly identified as the shooter in the string of violent incidents. The next day, law enforcement secured three warrants for Valdez from Potter County for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated robbery.
Police were attempting to serve the warrants on Valdez for the shooting spree at the house on North Buchanan Street.
Following the death of Valdez, Potter County's then-District Attorney Randall Sims hinted that the teen's propensity for violence was already known to local law enforcement.
Aaron Marcos Valdez's booking photo dated July 2, 2019 at Randall County Jail for two traffic warrants
“Apparently when he was younger he was a very nice kid," Sims told media at a news conference held at Potter County Courthouse on Feb. 20, 2020.
"He’s a kid that got into drugs and when he got into drugs he turned into one of the worst people we’ve had in Amarillo by doing this spree and being involved in, we believe, a drive by shooting.”3
Drive-by shooting death of Demond Thomas
On December 17, 2019, police were called to the 1700-block of Northeast 24th Avenue, near the D&T Store.
When they arrived, they learned that 45-year-old Demond Thomas was driving his car east on Northeast 24th Ave near the store when he was shot in the head.4
He was taken to Northwest Hospital where he died the next day.
Video still of red Jeep Cherokee Laredo, source: APD
Police sought out and obtained surveillance footage from D&T Store. The video showed two men driving a red Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo with tinted windows when one of the men fired their gun out the window at Thomas' vehicle.
A witness to the drive-by shooting told police that he recognized the shooter as someone he went to high school with.2
The witness viewed a photo array and identified Valdez as the shooter.
Autopsy and grand jury findings
An autopsy conducted on Valdez the day after his death showed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.2
Valdez had also been shot twice through and through in his torso as well as his arm. One bullet projectile was recovered from his body.
On February 26, 2020, a Potter County grand jury reviewed the evidence for the officer-involved shooting. They voted that the shooting of Valdez was justified.
Because Valdez died before charges could be brought against him, the shooting death of Demond Thomas remains open.
Thomas' obituary shows that he is survived by his wife, three sons, and a daughter.5
Valdez's obituary shows that he is survived by both parents, three sisters and a brother.6
Sources
Footnotes
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NewsChannel 10, "Officer Involved Shooting in Amarillo leaves one man dead," published February 13, 2020 ↩ ↩2
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Office of the Attorney General of Texas, Custodial Death Report for Aaron Marcos Valdez, published February 20, 2020 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
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NewsChannel 10, "New details released about officer involved shooting that ended in 1 man dead," published February 26, 2020 ↩ ↩2
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NewsChannel 10, "Tuesday shooting turns into homicide after man dies from his wounds," published December 19, 2019 ↩
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Golden Gate Mortuary, Obituary of Demond Thomas (July 2, 1974 - December 18, 2019) ↩
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Lagrone Blackburn Shaw Funeral Directors, Obituary for Aaron Marcos Valdez (October 17, 2001 - February 13, 2020) ↩