Strip Club Fight Leads to Shots Fired in Downtown School Zone

BY: ABQ RAW staff

POSTED: 08/21/2023 @ 1:30PM

Ramon Ash, 20 of Rio Rancho

Downtown Albuquerque –

In the early hours of August 21, 2023, chaos erupted on Central Avenue as a night of revelry and making it rain at a strip club took a violent turn. The Albuquerque Police Department responded to a call reporting a fight that originated at Knockouts, a local Strip Club establishment located at 311 Central Ave NW.

Upon their arrival, APD found a group of individuals engaged in a physical altercation at the intersection of 3rd Street and Central. Swiftly intervening, the officer managed to quell the fight, separating the combatants and restoring a semblance of order to the scene.

According to a criminal complaint, however, the relative calm was short-lived. Just over twenty minutes later, at approximately 01:49 AM, chaos erupted once again. A silver BMW tore through the parking lot near 2nd and Central at an alarming speed. A passenger in the vehicle unleashed a barrage of gunfire, discharging at least 12 shots from the passenger window. Bullets rained down upon people and parked vehicles, sending bystanders fleeing for cover.

The APD officer was able to locate the offender and executed a swift and calculated maneuver, positioning his cruiser behind the BMW before initiating a felony traffic stop at the northeast corner of 7th Street and Gold.

The occupants of the BMW, a driver and Ramon Ash, were promptly taken into custody. Ash, the passenger, was found in possession of a handgun that was discovered on the front passenger floorboard with its slide locked back. A large dog also occupied the backseat of the vehicle.

Ash cooperated with authorities to some extent. He admitted to owning the firearm but denied firing it from the vehicle. He did, however, admit to dropping the weapon out of the BMW’s window earlier, which corroborated the discovery of a gun by other officers in the parking lot near 2nd and Central.

The altercation left a victim injured and in need of medical attention. He was transported to Presbyterian Hospital Downtown by a private vehicle. The victim Chacon declined to cooperate with GVRU (Gun Violence Reduction Unit) detectives and expressed no desire to press charges for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Crime scene specialists cordoned off the BMW and subsequently towed it from the scene, awaiting a search warrant. Meanwhile, Ash was transported to Lovelace Hospital downtown to treat injuries sustained during the initial brawl. Upon his release, he was transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center without further incident. He was booked on charges of Shooting At or From a Motor Vehicle (Causing Personal Injury)30-3-8(B) 3rd Degree Felony and Negligent Use of a Deadly Weapon 30-7-4 a Petty Misdemeanor.

This shooting happened in the School Zone area that Mayor Tim Keller and APD Police Chief Harold Medina declared earlier this year. The designation was a move to try to get federal charges filed against gun crimes in the downtown area. It is unclear if there will be federal charges pending because of this gun violence.