Detectives investigating Friday’s fatal shooting of six-year-old Cyprien Romero continue in their work to determine the circumstances and exactly where it occurred.
The child’s parents drove him to Southern Hills Medical Center late Friday afternoon where he was pronounced dead. They initially said that Cyprien was with them as they performed yard work in the Paragon Mills area (address not given) and was playing with his brother when they became aware that he was injured. They were uncooperative after that. Conflicting information over the weekend indicated that the shooting might have occurred out of county.
The Ford Explorer in which Cyprien was driven to the hospital was impounded Friday night. Detectives know that shortly after arrival to the hospital, the child’s mother, Karen Y. Argueta, 28, drove off in the vehicle and was gone for nearly an hour before returning. The Explorer is registered to her. A subsequent search of the Explorer pursuant to a search warrant revealed a semi-automatic rifle style gun with a loaded magazine inside a bag in the rear floorboard. The gun was reported stolen out of Murfreesboro. Also in the Explorer was a plastic baggie containing 6.92 grams of crystal meth.
Monday night, through joint work by Youth Services, Homicide and Specialized Investigations Division detectives, Argueta was located in the parking lot of an apartment complex on McMurray Drive. Cyprien’s father, Fredy M. Martinez, 37, was located inside one of the apartments. Both were taken into custody.
Argueta was charged early today with felony meth possession and gun theft. She is jailed in lieu of $12,500 bond. Martinez is charged with being a fugitive from justice out of Travis County, Texas. He is wanted there for a probation violation related to a burglary conviction. Martinez is also charged with felony aggravated assault for allegedly beating Argueta last December. He is jailed in lieu of $82,500 bond.
Detectives continue to take a number of investigative steps to flesh out exactly how Cyprien Romero was shot and where. At this point in the investigation, there is no indication of involvement by unrelated parties.
