Shooting call determined to be fictitious

By Roger Lanse

Arriving at 42 Whiskey Creek Airport Road on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, at about 6:10 a.m., in reference to a shooting call, a Grant County Sheriff's Office deputy had contact with a female, Gemma Ortiz (Escobar), 41, of Arenas Valley, and a male, Carl Cross, 48, of Hurley. According to a GCSO offense report, both parties stated a named male intruder was trying to break into the house the pair were staying in and Ortiz fired two shots at the intruder through the window.

The deputy, however, could find no holes or broken glass where Ortiz said she had fired, although several holes which looked like bullet holes, were seen in a nearby TV. Cross told the deputy he had done that a couple of days ago. Ortiz told the deputy, the report stated, that she had used a .22 revolver to fire at the intruder, but now couldn't find it. Cross, according to the report, said the intruder was using lasers that can go out eight miles, but didn't say how they were being used or what the intruder was doing with them.

The two stated the intruder was parked at the neighbor's and walked over. But, according to the deputy, there were no tire tracks or footprints and the owners of the residences were sound asleep and had no idea who the intruder was and never heard of Ortiz and Cross. The description of the intruder's vehicle differed with the telling, with it first being a green Silverado, then tan or silver, and ended up being described as black.

Deputies tried to find the named intruder at his residence in Hurley and in areas where he was said to be, but they had no contact.

The deputy told Ortiz and Cross that it appears everything they told the deputy has not been 'valid,' the report said. The report concluded by the deputy saying, "There was no evidence at the scene to show someone had been shot or shot at by Ms. Ortiz."