By Roger Lanse

On Sunday, May 28, 2023, at about 10:22 a.m., Silver city Police Department officers were dispatched to the area of 2600 N. Swan Street in reference to a shooting complaint. A blotter entry indicated a caller advised that someone had shot her husband in the parking lot of Stout Elementary School and he was bleeding out. A second caller advised the Grant County Regional Dispatch Authority the shooting was the result of a fight between a motorcyclist and a car driver.

According to an SCPD report, when officers arrived, they found the victim, a 44-year-old male of Silver City, lying on the ground and bleeding from his mouth, chin, and head/neck area, A male, who was on his way to church and had EMS training, was on scene assisting to stanch the bleeding. As the assisting male and an officer were providing medical attention to the victim, Silver City Fire Department personnel arrived on scene and continued the medical aid.

The victim's wife told officers, the report stated, that the incident began on College Avenue, as they were travelling east toward Hudson Street, when the motorcyclist, later identified as Roland Puchi, 39, of Silver City, cut them off as he made a left turn onto College Avenue from Bullard Street. The motorcyclist and the victim met up a little later as both were stopped, headed north, at the traffic light on Hudson and 12th streets, where, she said, the two men exchanged words.

The victim and his wife continued on, turning left on Cactus Street from Silver Heights Blvd, and then jogging over to continue north on Swan Street, with the motorcyclist following, the wife said. At this point, according to the report, the wife stated the victim pulled over into the Stout Elementary School parking lot, exited his vehicle and began arguing with the motorcyclist who had still been following them. The wife stated she didn't pay much attention to the argument until she heard a loud pop that sounded like a gunshot and didn't hear arguing anymore. She also exited the vehicle and saw her husband lying on his face and the motorcyclist leaving south on Swan Street.

The report stated officers received a phone call advising that Puchi was at a Grant Street address. They arrived at the address and Puchi was arrested and booked into the Grant County Detention Center. GCDC staff told the Beat, Puchi remains in custody there, as of May 31, under a no bond hold.

According to SCPD Chief Freddy Portillo, the case remains under investigation, and the firearm used in this incident has yet to be recovered.