James Cole, 18, of Lamesa, was charged with deadly conduct – discharge of a firearm after federal agents arrested him, according to Sgt. Tony Everett, public information officer with the Big Spring Police Department.

“My understanding is he was arrested without incident,” said Everett. “After we determined Cole had fled the area, we asked several federal agencies to assist in locating him. It just happened to be the U.S. Marshals that apprehended him.”

Cole — known by the alias “Blitz” — was identified by law enforcement officials as a “person of interest” in the case in mid May.

According to Everett, the charge of deadly conduct – discharge of a firearm Cole faces is from the incident that claimed the lives of Valerie Garcia, 20, and Michael Cardona, 21, both of Big Spring.

“It's believed at this time Cole participated in the shooting,” said Everett. “No one has been charged with murder in this case yet. We're still at a point where we're trying to figure out who did what.”

Garcia and Cardona were pronounced dead at Scenic Mountain Medical Center shortly after a shooting was reported at 905 E. 16th St. at 9:38 p.m. Sunday, May 4. According to police reports, Garcia was pregnant at the time of her death.

Also injured in the shooting were an unidentified 3-year-old girl, 19-year-old Phiilp Martinez, 21-year-old Daniel Rios and 21-year-old David Rios.

Cole's arrest is the second stemming from the murder investigation, as police took 24-year-old Lubbock resident Earnesto Trevino into custody May 15, charging him with deadly conduct – discharge of a firearm for his alleged involvement in a May 3 shooting near Cantu Hydraulics, according to police officials. No one was injured in the May 3 shooting.

Everett confirmed Cole is a member of the Latin Kings street gang and maintains the May 4 shooting —  along with a slew of other shootings currently being investigated — are all connected to a drug turf dispute between a Big Spring family and the Latin Kings.

Howard County District Attorney Hardy Wilkerson said his office will examine the evidence before deciding whether the shooting should be prosecuted as a capital murder.

“It certainly appears to have the merits necessary for capital murder, but until the details of the investigation are turned over to us its hard to say for sure,” said Wilkerson shortly after the investigation began. “Anything at this point would purely be speculation.”

Anyone with information regarding the murder investigation is encouraged to contact the Big Spring Police Department at 264-2550 or Big Spring Area Crimestoppers at 263-TIPS (8477) or 264-TIPS (8477).

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it