Teenager Taken Into Custody In Connection To Murder Of Man Found Shot In New Mexico Street

Federal authorities said they have arrested a teenage murder suspect accused of fatally shooting a man in New Mexico this past spring.

Following a foot chase, U.S. Marshals apprehended Adrian Sanchez of Bandera, Texas, around 10:30 a.m. on July 5 in Albuquerque and charged him with multiple counts, including open murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and tampering with evidence, in connection to the slaying of Jesus Lopez, 29.

He was being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by the Albuquerque Journal, on May 5, Sanchez, 18, allegedly shot Lopez multiple times and left him dead in the middle of the road around 11 p.m.

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office identified Sanchez as a suspect in Lopez’s killing on June 29 because of another investigation into an unrelated murder, authorities said.

According to detectives who searched through messages on the suspect’s Instagram account, Sanchez allegedly wrote a friend and asked the friend to have the incident reported as a robbery and say Lopez pulled a gun.

Sanchez is also suspected of allegedly using a baseball bat to beat a man and two women on New Year’s Day, the Journal reported.