Jockey ID'd in shooting of trainer at Delaware Park Racetrack

STANTON, Del. (WPVI) -- Police have identified identified the jockey they say shot a trainer at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton.

Just after 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, Delaware State Police swarmed the stables at Delaware Park Racetrack following reports of a shooting.

According to police, a dispute between two employees ended after a jockey shot a trainer in his lower extremities.

The jockey, identified as 30-year-old Ruben Rojas of Wilmington, then took off.

"I was at the end of the barn. My foreman said, 'Did you see that guy almost hit your truck?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'Yeah, he came flying around the corner, almost hit your truck, and sped out the back gate,'" trainer Jamie Ness said.

"The victim fled in a vehicle which he had arrived in and he then fled from the area and, in the process, it was learned he had tossed a weapon that we believed was involved in the shooting out the window of the car and into a creek that runs through Delaware Park property," Delaware State Trooper Jeffrey Hale said.

It wasn't long until investigators narrowed their search for the suspected gunman just two miles from the racetrack at the Prides Court Apartments.

Rojas was taken into custody after a state police helicopter located the vehicle reported fleeing the scene in the parking lot.

The victim a 38-year-old Florida man was taken to Christiana Hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

On Wednesday afternoon, work went on as normal at the racetrack.

Some employees believe this was a fight over a woman; they say violence like this is rare at the park.

"It's really weird for it to happen here at Delaware Park," Franciso Rodriguez said.

Rojas was charged with Assault 1st Degree, Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony, and Possession of a Stolen Firearm. He was committed to the Howard Young Correctional Institution for lack of $123,000.00 cash bail.