In the early summer evening of June 6, 2025, the life of 19-year-old Hispanic male Ismael Milo Rios was tragically cut short by violence in his hometown of Hobbs, New Mexico. Known affectionately as "Milo" to friends and family, he was a loving and protective young man who had recently earned certifications as a CNA and EMT. Friends remembered him as someone who always had a smile on his face and brought joy to those around him, a person who never saw the bad in people and had so much to
accomplish.
That Friday, a call reporting shots fired sent Hobbs Police Department officers to the 800 block of East Lincoln Road. Upon arrival, they discovered two individuals with gunshot wounds. Emergency services rushed both victims to a local hospital. While one victim was subsequently airlifted to a hospital in Texas and survived, Ismael Rios succumbed to his injuries. The community was left to mourn the loss of a son, brother, uncle, and friend whose presence, as he would often say, was "the party."
Investigators quickly identified 20-year-old Michael Alonzo Wynne Garcia as the suspect in the deadly shooting. When officers located Garcia in a vehicle near the scene and ordered him to get out, he sped away, initiating a manhunt. The Hobbs Police Department issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of first-degree murder for the death of Ismael Rios, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon for the injury to the second victim, and aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer.
For five days, law enforcement searched for Garcia, recovering the vehicle he used to flee but not the suspect himself. Public alerts requested tips from the community as the search continued. The manhunt concluded on the evening of June 11, 2025, when Michael Alonzo Wynne Garcia surrendered to the Lea County Sheriff's Office in Lovington. He was taken into custody and booked into the Lea County Detention Center, bringing a close to the search as the criminal case against him began. In the days that followed, the family and friends of Ismael Rios gathered to remember a life ended too soon, sharing memories of a young man who had a bright future ahead of him.
