Boy Used As Getaway Driver By New Mexico Dad After Gas Station Shooting

A boy was the getaway driver for his drunk New Mexico dad, Albuquerque police say. Sergio Barrientos-Hinojosa was reportedly inebriated when he had his 13-year-old son drive him to a local convenience store to get more beer. Barrientos-Hinojosa got in an argument with a customer at the store and took out his handgun and opened fire, according to police reports.

Sergio Barrientos-Hinojosa, 33, did not realize that the gas store where the beer buying and shooting took place was right across the street from a spot where about 30 Albuquerque police officers had established a sobriety checkpoint. The New Mexico gas station was located at the intersection of Candelaria Road and San Mateo Boulevard in Albuquerque.

After hearing the gun shots, the law enforcement officers said Sergio Barrientos-Hinojosa ordered his 13-year-old son to be the getaway driver. The New Mexico dad reportedly fired several more shots into the air as the pair raced away from the gas station.

Multiple Albuquerque police cruisers quickly caught up to the father and the boy getaway driver just a few blocks away from the gas station. Police officers noted in their report that Barrientos-Hinojosa was “belligerent” during the arrest and yelled “racial slurs” at them as well.

A number of squad cars caught up with Barrientos-Hinojosa just a few blocks away. Police said that Barrientos-Hinojosa was belligerent during his arrest and yelled racial slurs. “The 13-year-old looked completely shell-shocked at that moment,” said Albuquerque Police Department representative Officer Simon Drobik, told the news media.

Officer Simon Drobik also had this to say about the father using his boy as a getaway driver after the Albuquerque gas station shooting.

“We had about 30 to 40 officers over here, lights sirens, cones, everything you need to be involved in a DWI checkpoint. What the officers thought immediately is that they were getting shot at. They took cover immediately and saw the vehicle speed way and they knew that vehicle has something to do with the gunshots. This could be a whole different call, we could still be here conducting a homicide investigation. We have these again and again and what’s going to happen is an innocent person is going to get killed because of the irresponsibility of somebody who’s drunk, has a 13 year old driving to a place to get beer and starts firing random shots into the air.”

Ryan Schmitt, a witness who lives near the Albuquerque gas station had this to say when asked about the father using the boy as a getaway driver, by local KRQE News, “It’s crazy, it’s disgusting, and it’s definitely out of line. Within 15 seconds, cops came speeding down the road with their sirens on.”

Sergio Barrientos-Hinojosa is expected to be have both child abuse and weapons charges levied against him later this week.

[Image via: Shutterstock]