Lawrence man dies in area's first homicide of the year

LAWRENCE — A 20-year-old local man was killed yesterday when two gunmen walked up to the minivan he was sitting in and sprayed the vehicle with bullets at close range.

Robert Gonzales, of 24 Dewey St., was pronounced dead at Lawrence General Hospital less than two hours after the 6 p.m. shooting. He is the area's first murder victim of the year.

Lawrence police detectives were canvassing the neighborhood for potential witnesses last night near 486 Haverhill St, which sits at the intersection of Hampton Street near the lower Tower Hill section of the city.

In addition to trying to identify two suspects who were reported to have fled the crime scene, police were seeking to identify the driver who bolted from the green Dodge Caravan after the shooting, leaving Gonzales bleeding in the passenger seat.

"Ordinarily, victims don't flee a shooting, so this makes us wonder what's going on here," police Chief John Romero said last night. "It's a little troubling that this guy has not come forward yet, and we're three hours into the shooting. That in itself is something we need to look at."

The bullet-riddled car apparently rolled about 20 feet from where the shooting occurred, coming to rest at an angle on the sidewalk in front of an apartment building at 486 Haverhill St.

Gonzales was struck in the back by two bullets, and was gasping for air and appeared to be trying to talk to police officers when he lost consciousness.

"This was no random shooting," Romero said. "They came up close to the car and fired away. Two men were seen running away, but we didn't get a very good description of them. We really need to talk to the driver."

Last night, police were interviewing the owner of the minivan, whom they described as Gonzales's girlfriend.

Kostas Kambourakis, owner of Lucky's Pizza & Subs at 480 Haverhill St., said he heard a noise around 5:45 p.m. that got his attention, but didn't realize it was a shooting until the area was swarming with the flashing blue lights of police cruisers.

"I didn't know if it was a muffler or a gun shot," said Kambourakis, who has owned the store since 1985. "Didn't notice anything until I saw cops all over the place."

He said it was the only shooting he could recall in recent years near his store.

"We've had our problems in the area. We've been held up a couple of times here at gunpoint," Kambourakis said. "But this is the first time we've had a shooting close by."

Armed gunmen robbed the store in December 2007 and again a month later — threatening on both occasions to shoot the store workers if they didn't hand over the money.

This was the first murder in Lawrence since last October's shooting of Julio Zuniga, a 34-year-old Haverhill father who was killed after leaving D'Cache, a nightclub formerly known as Punto Finale at 272 Broadway.

Zuniga's shooting was one of four homicides in the city last year. There were also four in 2007.

A section of Haverhill Street in the area of Hampton Street was blocked off to traffic last night as police continued their investigation. Romero said police were concerned about the potential loss of shell casings and other evidence from the crime scene.

Romero said two different caliber guns were used, at least one of which was an automatic weapon that left several shell casings in the street. At least a dozen rounds were fired at the scene, according to police, about nine of which struck the car.

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Photos

The driver's side of a green Dodge Caravan was riddled with bullet holes after a shooting on Hampton Street. Police found a man bleeding in the passenger seat and rushed him to Lawrence General Hospital, where he later died The driver of the minivan fled the scene, police said, as did the shooter or shooters. Staff Photographer