Suspect faces gang-related charge

A 19-year-old South Lake Tahoe man has been charged in a Feb. 22 shooting in a casino parking garage during a fight between two groups of young men.

Eric Zamudio, also known as Chris Garcia, was charged with battery with a deadly weapon to promot gang activity.

Douglas County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jim Halsey said Zamudio is a known affiliate of a street gang. He is in Douglas County Jail on $75,000 bail pending a court appearance.

The incident left one victim injured by numerous pellet wounds from the discharge of a shotgun.

The arrest was made by Investigator Greg Rooney.

Nearly a dozen deputies responded to the first-floor parking garage at Harveys Casino in Stateline after a fight was reported at 9:30 p.m. Feb. 22.

Two rival groups of four to five males each were fighting and arguing in the garage.

One of the males, identified as Zamudio, retrieved a shotgun from an unknown location and discharged the weapon at the other group. Both groups ran from the garage after the shooting.

Three of the males were detained in South Lake Tahoe a quarter-mile from the scene, including the 18-year-old shooting victim.

The South Lake Tahoe man had been hit in the left cheek, left side of his neck and left shoulder by the pellets.

The victim had little information, but Rooney was able to identify a possible suspect after crime scene processing, follow-up investigation and interviews with potential witnesses and informants, Halsey said.

Zamudio reportedly confessed to Rooney, according to the sheriff's office.