Albuquerque –
The Albuquerque Police Department released an email to all media announcing the arrest of two teens this week. Because the suspects are both minors, there is no way for media to read an actual criminal complaint, or provide the public with additional details.
APD says their detectives arrested two teen-age suspects who are accused in the murder of a 15-year-old boy during an attempt to sell a gun on New Year’s Eve. This was the final reported homicide of 2024 in the Duke City.
Detectives charged Adrian Torres, 17, and Uriel Alonso, 16, this week for the Dec. 31, 2024, shooting death of Manuel Ortega. Torres was arrested on Thursday. Alonso finally turned himself into police today.
Homicide detectives determined that Ortega, 15, and his 14-year-old brother had arranged to meet Torres and purchase a gun at Anderson Mesa Park, located at 8500 Old Cottonwood Ave. S.W. Ortega and Torres were communicating with each other through a social media application called Telegram.
According to APD, home surveillance video showed a vehicle, later determined to be a 2009 gold Chevy Impala owned by Torres’s mother, as it drove into the West Side neighborhood where Ortega and his brother lived. A second vehicle that appeared to be associated with the suspects, also entered the neighborhood and parked nearby. The driver of the Impala, later determined to be Torres, exited the vehicle and hid behind a nearby bush. The passenger, later determined to be Alonso, got into the driver’s seat.
At 6:15 PM, Ortega and his brother approached the Impala and the brother got into the passenger side seat. Ortega was not able to get into the back seat and he stood outside. A minute later, at least two gunshots were heard from within the vehicle, along with arguing. Torres, who was hiding behind the bush, approached the vehicle and got into the passenger seat as Ortega’s brother exited the car. The car fled from the scene.
The brother went to check on Ortega who had been shot twice and was on the ground. The video then showed the brother firing multiple gunshots in the direction of the vehicle as it fled. Ortega died at the scene as a result of the gunshots.
Homicide detectives eventually identified Torres and Alonso. Detectives also accessed social media messages, photos and videos that corroborated other evidence linking them to the shooting.
Torres and Alonso are both charged with an open count of murder, armed robbery, conspiracy, and tampering with evidence.
Juvenile laws and codes have not been updated since the 1970s. Those days were a time where stealing a candy bar, causing vandalism to Halloween pumpkins and spray painting graffiti on an alley wall was shocking to the community. Sometimes when fists didn’t suffice a baseball bat or brass knuckles were produced during disputes. 55-plus-years have passed since those days and the youth of our community have escalated their shenanigans to murder and mayhem within the community.
It’s so heartbreaking to know that children are committing these crimes against each other. Our world has sure changed.
I’m glad I grew up when kids could be kids and there was no computers or social media. The Internet has a very dark side and giving children unsupervised access is crazy. Had it not been for social media these punks would probably have never met.
The journal says the “brother” fired 17 rounds at the fleeing car. He was not charged by APD. The car had one bullet hole when it was impounded. So, the kid hit his target with one out of 17 rounds, which is as good as most APD cops can shoot.
LE DOESNT DO SHIT ABOUT THAT TELEGRAM app ,everytime I’ve said some thing it’s always ” yes we know about that”, but nothing is ever been done .
JUST SAYING
Juveniles..not surprised.
Charge them as adults. This state doesn’t do that. The boy who shot my house up got juvenile charges still violated and no consequences happened. I begged the DA and the APD imbeciles to charge him as an adult but no dice. That’s the problem we need to lock them up and throw away the key.
Just a question, were you a perfect 15 year old?
I agree, this generation is troubled due to tech brainwashing, desensitization. I was brutally assaulted by five female juveniles in Robinson Park on a Monday morning while waiting for ACS, APD/ACS NEVER RESPONDED so they got away with it as usual.
They will charges as juveniles, which the my are. Out by 18th birthday. What should concern all of you – and it’s your fault for voting him in is the DA. He’s lobbying to change the code to charge people up to the age of 25 years old as juveniles. That’s right, so when your 23 year old neighbor kills you – just know he will be out in (2) years. This DA is the reason for our crime problem. Him and all of you who continue to vote for this asshole.
Mayor Timmy’s got to go..¡ROCK THE VOTE!