A 25-year-old man has been placed on probation for five years after admitting his involvement in a fatal shooting five years ago in a central Lubbock neighborhood.

Anthony Alvarez, who has been out on bond since December 2020, pleaded guilty last Thursday to one count of aggravated robbery in the Jan. 16, 2019, shooting death of Jimmy Hernandez Rodriguez, 41, in the 1500 block of 37th Street.

Aggravated robbery is a first-degree felony punishable by five years to life in prison.

Alvarez faces the full range of penalties if his probation is revoked. However, the charge will be dismissed if he completes it successfully.

He was one of two men charged with murder, which is also a first-degree felony.

Miguel Garza, 27, pleaded guilty in November 2022 to one count of murder in exchange for a 40-year sentence, which he is serving in the Roach Unit in Childress.

As part of Alvarez’s plea deal, prosecutors dismissed the murder case and filed the aggravated robbery charge.

Their charges stem from a Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit investigation that began after Lubbock police officers responding to a call near the intersection of 37th Street and Avenue P found Rodriguez on the ground in the 1500 block of 37th Street, according to court documents.

Rodriguez was taken to University Medical Center where he died.

A witness at the scene told investigators he saw a gold-colored Ford Expedition pull up on a curb north of him and saw a man dressed in dark clothing get out of the passenger side of the vehicle. The witness told investigators he heard three gunshots and the man returned to the vehicle.

Footage from a nearby security camera shows the SUV pulling Rodriguez over near the intersection, court documents state.

A detective spotted an SUV matching the description of the shooter’s vehicle traveling in the 4600 block of I-27 and stopped it. The detective found Garza, wearing dark clothing, driving the vehicle. He was arrested on unrelated charges, the court document said.

Garza allegedly admitted to investigators that he shot Rodriguez, saying he saw him around the homes he regularly visited and believed he was a threat to his family. However, he said he also wanted to steal the backpack Rodriguez was carrying, the court document states.

He said Alvarez provided him with the gun and was driving the SUV when he pulled up next to Rodriguez before the shooting.

Investigators spoke with a third man who was in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, who corroborated Garza’s statement.

However, Alvarez denied providing Garza with the gun and denied cutting Rodriguez, although he admitted driving the SUV.

Another witness told investigators he received a text message from Alvarez telling him he was “hitting,” a slang term for robbery. She said Alvarez also told her that Garza had shot someone, the documents state.

Garza will have to serve half of his sentence before he is eligible to apply for parole.

This article originally appeared on the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: A man is getting probation for his role in a 2019 fatal shooting in central Lubbock