In a quiet Mableton, Georgia subdivision on October 24, 2021, a prearranged confrontation between teenagers turned deadly, claiming the life of 16-year-old Pablo Gomez. The Hispanic male was fatally shot in the Starling Place subdivision during an altercation that involved several other youths.
The tragic sequence of events began when two local teenagers, Justin Flores Allende, 17, and Jonathan Fernandez, 15, organized a meeting with Gomez and another individual, Edgar Villatoro, with
the intention of a physical fight. The planned encounter quickly escalated into a violent brawl between the two pairs. As the situation intensified, Gomez and Villatoro attempted to flee the scene. It was at this moment that a third, unidentified individual fired a rifle, striking Gomez and inflicting a fatal wound.
Following an investigation into the shooting, Cobb County police arrested both Allende and Fernandez. While authorities do not believe either of the two teenagers fired the weapon that killed Gomez, they were each charged with malice murder for their role in orchestrating the meeting that ultimately led to his death. In addition to the murder charges, both teens faced three counts of aggravated assault with intent to murder. These charges stemmed from the shots fired at Villatoro and two other men who were also present at the scene.
Jonathan Fernandez was taken into custody and is being held at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center without bond. Due to his status as a minor, bonding information for Justin Flores Allende was not made publicly available. The individual who fired the fatal shot remains at large, and the Cobb County Police Department's investigation into the identity and whereabouts of this third suspect is ongoing.
