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Affidavit Reveals New Details and Alleged Motive Behind Odessa Shooting

We're learning new details behind a shooting that landed an Odessa teen in the hospital and one woman behind bars. Twenty-two-year-old Emily Mata is being held in the Ector County Jail. She's accused of pulling the trigger and she turned herself into police on Tuesday night.
By Geena Martinez
NewsWest 9

ODESSA - We're learning new details behind a shooting that landed an Odessa teen in the hospital and one woman behind bars.

22-year-old Emily Mata is being held in the Ector County Jail. She's accused of pulling the trigger and she turned herself into police on Tuesday night.

On April 8th, Mata took to Facebook to share her appreciation for 18-year-old Alex Reyna.

She wrote "it feels good to have that special friend who makes everything that much better."

But less than two weeks after that post, Reyna was shot in the chest and police said Mata fired the gun.

According to an arrest affidavit, Reyna told investigators he and Mata were sitting in his truck outside his house when she pulled out a gun and shot him.

"It had been determined that it wasn't just an aggravated assault but that an actual robbery had occurred," Cpl. Steve LeSueur, with Odessa Police, said.

Police said Mata stole Reyna's truck and his money.

The truck was later found in the 1300 block of Clements with blood stains and part of a bullet jacket.

However, Mata is telling a different story.

Investigators tracked her down via telephone after getting a tip from an anonymous caller.

According to the affidavit, Mata told police over the phone, she and Reyna were getting high on Xanax when the shooting happened.

She said she was showing Reyna the gun when she accidentally fired.

Two Xanax pills were found on the scene.

"Just because she said she was intoxicated doesn't mean she actually was," LeSueur said. "It doesn't matter if it was intentional or reckless. We still take it extremely serious."

The affidavit said Mata admitted she drove off in Reyna's truck because she panicked.

She also told police she can't remember what happened to the gun. Mata is charged with aggravated robbery, a first degree felony.

Alex Reyna is at Medical Center Hospital in serious condition.

Family friends told NewsWest 9 his lung collapsed and he had to have another surgery.

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