The Albuquerque Police Department in New Mexico held a news conference Thursday night to update on two shootings of children.
APD Chief Harold Medina announced that detectives have made arrests in the shooting death of 11-year-old Froylan Villegas. Police have arrested 22-year-old Jose Romero and 21-year-old Nathen Garley for the fatal shooting.
Medina said the shooting was initially considered a road rage shooting, but is now considered a case of mistaken identity. Romero and Garley are accused of firing 14 gunshots from their vehicle at another.
Medina announced on Friday afternoon that police have arrested 26-year-old Daniel Gomez, the third suspect in the fatal shooting of Villegas.
Villegas’ cousin Tatiana Villegas is still recovering from the Sept. 6 shooting at a hospital, according to APD. The mother of Villegas and his infant brother were also inside the vehicle during the shooting.
The Villegas family were driving after attending an Albuquerque Isotopes game.
Detectives learned Romero and Garley were also in attendance at the baseball game. The two left after Romero saw a man he had an ongoing feud with, according to APD.
Video surveillance showed Garley and Romero exit the stadium after being confronted by the man with a group of others.
Medina commended several units within the department on their work to arrest the two suspects.
“These cowards thought they were tough. They killed an innocent child,” Medina said. “Thanks to our homicide detectives, investigative support detectives, crime scene investigators, digital intelligence team and everyone who put so much effort into solving this case. The APD team cares about victims and their families and we will do whatever it takes to bring justice.”
Garley was stopped by police while returning to New Mexico from Arizona. He was found with 100,ooo fentanyl pills inside the vehicle, according to NMSP. The Department of Homeland Security is also working the drug trafficking case.
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