Current:Home > StocksOliver James Montgomery-A boy's killing led New Mexico's governor to issue a gun ban. Arrests have been made in the case, police say. -Capitatum
Oliver James Montgomery-A boy's killing led New Mexico's governor to issue a gun ban. Arrests have been made in the case, police say.
Ethermac Exchange View
Date:2025-04-07 21:51:55
Two men were arrested in the deadly shooting of an 11-year-old boy that prompted New Mexico's governor to order a controversial gun ban in Albuquerque,Oliver James Montgomery police said Thursday. Froylan Villegas, 11, was killed near a minor league baseball park earlier this month in what Albuquerque's police chief described as a case of mistaken identity.
Nathen Garley, 21, and Jose Romero, 22, were charged with murder in the shooting, police said in a statement. Romero was arrested outside an Albuquerque convenience store Thursday, and Garley was already in custody in a different case, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said during a news conference.
Garley was arrested last week when State Police found around 100,000 fentanyl pills in his vehicle during a traffic stop as he was driving back from Arizona, State Police Chief Troy Weisler told reporters.
What did the New Mexico governor's gun ban do?
Villegas was killed after his family left the Albuquerque Isotopes stadium on Sept. 6, police said. Two days later, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham cited the killing of Villegas and the shooting deaths of a 5-year-old girl and a 13-year-old girl earlier this summer when she tried to temporarily suspend open-carry and concealed-carry laws in Bernalillo County, which includes Albuquerque.
The attempted gun ban didn't apply to law enforcement officers and licensed security guards in the state's most populous county, and gun owners with permits to carry firearms were still allowed to have their weapons on private property like gun ranges and gun shops.
The ban, part of a public health order aimed at reducing gun violence, was met with legal challenges and criticism, and a federal judge has blocked it. Last Friday, Lujan Grisham changed the order to temporarily ban guns at parks and playgrounds in the county.
In the killing of Villegas, an ongoing feud between Romero and another man escalated when they saw each other during a game at the ballpark, police said. The other man, who police didn't identify, was at the game with members of his family.
In the ballpark's parking lot, the man is seen on surveillance camera footage driving past the Villegas family's vehicle, police said. Both vehicles are 2019 white Dodge pickup trucks.
The Villegas family left a short time after the other man. The suspects drove alongside their truck, and a passenger stood through the sunroof and fired into the family's truck, thinking they were shooting into the man's truck, police said.
"It is our belief that these cowards mixed up the two vehicles and shot into the wrong vehicle, taking the life of a young man," Medina told reporters.
On the day after the shooting, the man who police say was the intended target sent Romero a message on Instagram telling him they shot at the wrong truck, police said.
- In:
- New Mexico
- Gun Control
Alex Sundby is a senior editor for CBSNews.com
TwitterveryGood! (516)
Related
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- FBI says Tennessee man wanted to 'stir up the hornet's nest' at US-Mexico border by using bombs, firearms
- Ed Dwight was to be the first Black astronaut. At 90, he’s finally getting his due
- As coach Chip Kelly bolts UCLA for coordinator job, Bruins face messy Big Ten future
- Shilo Sanders' bankruptcy case reaches 'impasse' over NIL information for CU star
- Prince Harry Reaches Settlement in Phone Hacking Case
- South Dakota deputy killed on duty honored with flashing emergency lights, packed stadium
- Police search for shooter after bystander shot inside Times Square store
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- On Lunar New Year, what celebrating the Vietnamese Tet holiday has taught me
Ranking
- Kansas City Chiefs CEO's Daughter Ava Hunt Hospitalized After Falling Down a Mountain
- Usher's Got Fans Fallin' in Love With His Sweet Family
- Indianapolis man arrested after stabbing deaths of 2 women in their 50s
- Pakistan’s ex-PM Sharif says he will seek coalition government after trailing imprisoned rival Khan
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Finnish airline Finnair ask passengers to weigh themselves before boarding
- 'Wait Wait' for February 10, 2024: With Not My Job guest Lena Waithe
- Will Beyoncé's new hair care line, Cécred, cater to different hair textures?
Recommendation
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
Queen Camilla Gives Update on King Charles III After His Cancer Diagnosis
Millions of clothing steamers recalled for posing a burn hazard from hot water expulsion
Migrant crossings fall sharply along Texas border, shifting to Arizona and California
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
LA Dodgers embrace insane expectations, 'target on our back' as spring training begins
What is Wagyu? The beef has a 'unique, meltaway texture' but comes with a heavy price tag
Pakistan’s ex-PM Sharif says he will seek coalition government after trailing imprisoned rival Khan