Man killed outside Millcreek apartment may have been protecting others

MILLCREEK – He might not have been the intended target.  That’s what police are saying about the man who was shot and killed outside of a Millcreek apartment building this week.

Investigators say it all stemmed from an argument on Facebook between one of the suspects, Edgar Esquivel, and another man.  Esquivel, using the name “Jokie Dinero,” reportedly threatened to commit a heinous crime on that man’s baby.

“Esquivel made some statements regarding drowning and raping a two-month-old infant,” according to Unified Police Sergeant Melody Gray.

The two arguing parties gathered people they know to settle their dispute near the Sunnyvale Apartments in Millcreek.  The man whose baby was threatened asked the victim, Taylor Kauvaka, to come along.  Jail documents show Esquivel came with Alekzander Ethan May and four other people.  Gray says May pulled a shotgun out of a cardboard box.

“Taylor stepped in front between the gun and the other people that were there.  That’s when he was shot,” Gray says.

Kauvaka was shot once in the chest.  May ran away from the scene but was spotted by an officer a few blocks away.  Gray says that’s when he told the officer he had shot someone.

She says, “[Kauvaka] wasn’t the one involved in the argument, so, based on the information and what was happening and led up to this incident, he probably wasn’t the person they intended to either intimidate or shoot.”

Esquivel reportedly tried to hide his posts after the shooting happened.  Jail reports state he asked him mother to delete what was on his phone.  Gray says he also deleted his Facebook account shortly after the shooting.

“The whole entire Facebook page has been deleted or disabled.  But, as we know, social media never goes away.  It’s all still there, so it’s still obtainable.”