Methuen man in Centralville shooting incident deemed dangerous, held without bail

LOWELL — The 35-year-old Methuen man accused of shooting at a man in Lowell’s Centralville neighborhood was deemed dangerous and ordered held without bail by a judge during a hearing in Lowell District Court Friday.

The alleged shooting took place late Sunday afternoon, when Jaime Rodriguez allegedly fired a gun while he was in his car on Fulton Street, according to police reports at Lowell District Court.

The alleged target of the shooting told police shortly after the incident that he knew the accused shooter only as “Sombra” and they had been incarcerated together, court documents state. After their release, the alleged victim claimed Sombra called him “a snitch,” according to court documents.

Just before the shooting on Sunday, the alleged victim claims he ran into Sombra while the two were driving in downtown Lowell. Sombra pulled his car up to the man’s vehicle and said he wanted to talk, court documents state. The man agreed and began to follow the suspect’s car into the Centralville neighborhood.

After losing sight of Sombra’s car on Fulton Street, the alleged victim said he witnessed the suspect approach his vehicle on foot from West L Street while holding a firearm.

“(The alleged victim) immediately stopped his vehicle and started to reverse at which point he observed the male racking the slide of the firearm and firing two rounds in his direction,” court documents state.

The suspect then fled the scene, while the alleged target of the shooting called police.

Two shell casings were found by police at the corner of West L and Fulton streets.

Lowell Police officers canvassed the neighborhood on Sunday and took several witness statements. Court documents state one woman pointed out to police where her dining room window had been struck by a stray bullet. Another woman told police the windshield of her vehicle — parked on Fulton Street — was also struck by a bullet during the incident.

No one was injured from the gunfire.

Using the license plate number of the vehicle he was driving, his Facebook page and a past mugshot, Sombra was identified as Rodriguez and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The Methuen resident was taken into custody on Tuesday morning.

Police charged Rodriguez with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, and possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card.

Rodriguez is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on Oct. 18.

Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis.