A Caldwell man was shot in a business-area parking lot Wednesday evening and died less than an hour after police arrived. By Friday, a 15-year-old accused in Diego Sanchez's death was in adult court, facing a first-degree murder charge and an order holding him without bail.
The case has moved quickly, but the central allegation remains to be tested in court. Prosecutors say the teenager's release could bring more violence. Police say their homicide investigation is still open.
A shooting on South Kimball Avenue
Officers responded at about 5:43 p.m. September 23 to the 1600 block of South Kimball Avenue, after reports of multiple gunshots and vehicles leaving the area. They found Sanchez, 21, wounded in a parking lot and began first aid before medical personnel took him to a hospital.
The Ada County Coroner's Office says Sanchez, a Caldwell resident, was pronounced dead at 6:29 p.m. at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. The coroner determined that multiple gunshot wounds caused his death and classified it as a homicide. Those findings establish how Sanchez died, not who fired the shots.
The location was between business buildings near a gas station, according to reporting from the scene. Caldwell Mayor Eric Phillips went there that evening and said he had confidence in the department's ability to pursue the investigation. At the time, police said they knew of no continuing threat to the public.
Witnesses and a vehicle led to an arrest
Police said witnesses provided information about a vehicle connected to the suspect. Detectives used an automated license plate reader system to identify that vehicle and then the teenager, before working with the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney's Office to obtain an arrest warrant. That account describes an investigative lead, not a finding that the accused committed the shooting.
Caldwell police arrested Johan Rodriguez Gomez at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, September 24. The department said the Metro Violent Crime Task Force, U.S. Marshals, Idaho State Police, Canyon County sheriff's deputies and probation and parole officers assisted. He was initially booked into the Southwest Idaho Juvenile Detention Center on a murder charge.
Investigators have said additional charges or arrests could follow. The police account does not establish a final motive, and a charge is not a conviction.
The court weighed release and further violence
At Friday's arraignment, Judge Matthew Bever denied bail. Gomez is charged with first-degree murder in Sanchez's death, according to court coverage. Prosecutors also described a separate allegation involving gunfire directed at Sanchez's girlfriend. That allegation has not been proven.
Prosecutors raised concerns about Gomez's alleged gang affiliations and told the court they feared more violence if he were released. The warning was their argument for keeping him in custody, not a judicial finding about a gang or a forecast that violence will occur. Bever denied bail after hearing those concerns.
The judge said the charges require the case to proceed in adult court under Idaho law. Adult prosecution does not erase the accused person's age: Gomez was 15 when the alleged shooting occurred, and the case remains at the charging stage. Reporting on the hearing also noted that, despite a reference in court to the death penalty, prosecutors confirmed it cannot be sought for someone who was under 18 at the time of the alleged offense.
For Sanchez's family, the immediate fact is a 21-year-old man's death. For Caldwell residents, the questions now sit with a continuing police investigation and a local court: what happened in that parking lot, whether anyone else was involved, and which allegations the evidence can actually establish. Caldwell police have asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact detectives as the case continues.