May 18—One of the young men was selling drugs, according to police. The other two planned to rob him. All three had guns.

When Devin Caballero tried to drive off, Paul Gonzales held onto his window — his body being dragged — as the two got into a close-up shootout, leaving Caballero dead and Gonzales injured.

On Wednesday, almost a year later, Gonzales, 19, was charged with an open count of murder in the May 25, shooting.

Gonzales’ attorney could not be reached Saturday.

It is unclear if Caballero’s friend, who police say also fired at Gonzales and fled the scene, is charged in the case.

In February, Caballero’s mother, Nicole, told the Journal she knew Gonzales’ name and was unsure why he hadn’t been charged.

A criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court details no investigative steps taken by the initial detective after July 31. In late March, the case was reassigned to another detective, and less than two months later, Gonzales was charged.

Prosecutors filed a motion to detail Gonzales until trial, saying he should be held “for the fatal wound” to Caballero after “an apparent robbery quickly evolved into violence.”

“It was determined that Caballero and (his friend) would take Gonzales’ marijuana from him by violence, if necessary. It did not go well,” according to the motion. “… (Caballero) paid with his life; (Gonzales) was also wounded.”

Police responded around 11:30 p.m. to a shooting in the 1200 block of Propps NE, near Morris and Constitution. Officers found Caballero dead in the driver’s seat of his car, with a gun and a large amount of cash on the floor. Police said they found bullet casings from three different guns in the car and on the street.

Gonzales’ mother brought him to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head and buttocks, according to the complaint. Officers found a 9mm handgun covered in blood inside the car Gonzales was taken to the hospital in.

Police said Caballero’s friend visited Caballero’s mother in June and told her he was there when her son was killed. The friend told the mother, in a conversation she recorded, that Caballero tried to drive away without paying Gonzales’ for drugs.

The friend told Caballero’s mother that Gonzales held onto the window as he and Caballero shot at each other, according to the complaint. The friend said he also fired at Gonzales after Caballero was shot and described her son’s “last moments.”

From July to March, no investigation is documented in the criminal complaint.

Police said on March 26, the case was assigned to another detective, who discovered Instagram messages in which Caballero’s friend, days before the shooting, was trying to sell a gun that matched the third set of casings found at the scene.

Due to the trajectory of the gunshot wound that killed Caballero, police say, it had to have been fired by Gonzales.

“Evidence showed that (Gonzales) reached inside of the vehicle with his handgun and fatally shot (Caballero) in the stomach,” according to the complaint. “(Gonzales) did not call for police assistance or to report the incident at any point and refused to speak to detectives on scene.”