Stacia Marie Pearce was on the phone with a friend late Monday night, catching up from her house on Juniper Street. The conversation ended abruptly around 3 a.m. when sudden gunfire echoed through the receiver, followed by total silence.
The friend repeatedly called back, hoping someone would pick up. When every attempt went straight to voicemail, she dialed 911 and asked local police to head over for an emergency welfare check.
Roswell police officers pulled up to the home in the 1600 block of Juniper Street a short time later. They walked up the driveway, knocked on the front door, and went inside to inspect the property.
Officers found Pearce, 38, and 39-year-old Tony Joseph Ontiveros inside the home. Both had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and paramedics pronounced them dead at the scene.
While inspecting the property, investigators noticed that Pearce’s car was missing from its usual spot outside. Officers immediately suspected that whoever fired the shots stole the vehicle to escape the neighborhood.
Police sent out an urgent radio broadcast with the vehicle’s description to surrounding patrol units across Chaves County. Officers spotted the stolen vehicle later that morning and safely recovered it for evidence processing.
Neighbors along Juniper Street woke up to blue police lights flashing through their windows. Crime scene technicians spent hours collecting evidence and taping off the yard while detectives knocked on nearby doors looking for witnesses.
Roswell police are continuing to investigate the double shooting as a homicide. Authorities urge anyone with information or local security camera footage from around 3 a.m. to call detectives at 575-624-6700.
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