On the morning of May 28, 2023, 25-year-old Jiovanny Eloy Morales was shot in Hobbs, New Mexico, at the intersection of Broadway and Grimes Streets. Police found Morales with a gunshot wound to the head; he was taken to Covenant Health Hobbs Hospital and later died of his injuries. At the time he was a passenger in a maroon Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Investigators say the Jeep was being pursued by a black Toyota Camry. Surveillance footage shows both vehicles driving recklessly through multiple intersections. Video also captured Morales exiting the Jeep near Joe Harvey Boulevard and Grimes Street and attempting to open the Camry’s driver door before about four shots were fired.

A red Chrysler PT Cruiser with Texas plates was later tied to the shooting and traced to 17-year-old Jose S. Briones Jr. A warrant charging Briones with first-degree murder was issued June 13, 2023; police recovered a spent .40 caliber casing in the PT Cruiser. A separate warrant names 27-year-old Jose Muro of Hobbs as the Jeep’s driver and charges him with accessory to shooting at or from a motor vehicle, a second-degree felony.

If anyone has information about Morales, the vehicles, or the events that morning, please come forward.