BY: ABQ RAW staff
POSTED: 09/22/2023 @ 11:30AM
Albuquerque –
APD homicide detectives officially charged two men this week for the shooting that killed 11-year-old Froylan Villegas and critically injuring his cousin, Tatiana Villegas.
The suspects — Jose Romero, 22, and Nathan Garley, 21, from Albuquerque– are accused of shooting at least 14 rounds from a black Dodge Durango into a 2019 white Dodge truck. The pair thought they were shooting at another man they were targeting as a result of an ongoing rivalry. The intended victim had an almost identical truck to the Villegas family’s truck and drove near each other before the shooting.
PATREON MEMBERS CAN READ THE FEDERAL ARREST WARRANT FOR GARLEY HERE: patreon.com/posts/89681125
APD and New Mexico State Police during separate incidents were able to take the two killers into custody . Romero was apprehended on September 21st, 2023, and Garley was stopped by New Mexico State Police just outside of Grants, N.M on September 13th, 2023.
At a press conference hosted by APD last night they gave basic facts about the case and leaned toward drug dealing connections pertaining to the suspects.
The September 13th, traffic stop by New Mexico State Police was a simple traffic stop that led police to him being connected to the murder of 11-year-old in Albuquerque. Garley had expired insurance on his vehicle while driving on I-40 through Grants and a State Police officer pulled him over. Garley was with his girlfriend when they were pulled over and both of them gave inconsistent stories. The alert state police officer noticed Garley had makeup covering his prominent neck tattoos. Garley said the cover up was part of a TikTok challenge going around. In our research, a neck tattoo makeup cover challenge has not been started on the popular social media site.
A police search of the vehicle found over 24 pounds of fentanyl pills and some experts say the street value is worth over 1 million dollars. Garley was federally charged by Homeland Security Investigations because of the New Mexico State Police stop.
The homicide case in Albuquerque is shrouded in secrecy as the Albuquerque Police Department requested to seal the criminal complaint and arrest warrant details. In our reporting expertise there is a high probability this case is cartel connected involving the two suspects.