Man shot to death at New Mexico Walmart store

Occurred January 19, 2015.

Scene of fatal shooting at Albuquerque Walmart (source)

21-year old Angelo Martinez was leaving a Walmart store in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when he met a group of people entering the store.  An argument broke out between the groups, then someone in the group pulled out a gun and fired shots, hitting several cars in the parking lot and hitting Martinez.  Martinez later died from the wounds.

From an article:

Police say the 21-year-old was gunned down around 9 p.m. in a busy Walmart parking lot near Coors and Interstate 40 on Sunday. He died at the hospital.

Police were called to the Walmart at 2550 Coors NW after receiving calls about a fight.

While they were en route, callers reported that shots were fired and someone was hit.

Police haven’t said if the shooting happened inside or outside the store, but the victim’s father, Melvin Martinez, said witnesses told him the fight was in the doorway of the store. Angelo Martinez was walking in while another group was walking out and words were exchanged, Melvin Martinez said. The other group knocked off Angelo Martinez’s hat, then punches were thrown and someone shot him.

Melvin Martinez said the witnesses he talked to didn’t know if the two groups knew each other or if it was a random interaction. ....

There was still blood on the Walmart parking lot’s asphalt Monday morning and employees had blocked four parking spots with caution tape while they tried to get it cleaned up. A Walmart employee said two people came into the store Monday because their cars had been hit by bullets and they were trying to get reimbursed for the damage.

Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Tanner Tixier said nobody in the parking lot or store had a description of the suspect to give to police.

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Three gunmen rob safe from New Mexico Walmart and shoot at store

Occurred October 29, 2014.

Photo of one of the gunmen at Albuquerque Walmart (source)

Three men entered a Walmart store in Albuquerque, New Mexico and stole a cash drop safe from the store while threatening Walmart employees, then fired a shot back at the store with a firearm.

Luckily no one was injured.

From an article and news video:

Albuquerque police are looking for three men who stole the cash drop safe from the Wal-Mart at 400 Eubank NE just after midnight early Wednesday morning.

APD spokesperson Tanner Tixier said the men, who were armed, demanded the large safe from managers, who complied.

The suspects then took the safe out of the store and loaded it onto the back of a white '90s model Ford Ranger with an extended cab. Tixier said the truck also had a blue stripe along the bottom of it.

One of the suspects allegedly fired a shot back at the store as they fled in the truck, but no one was injured.

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Man threatens to shoot bystanders in New Mexico Walmart parking lot, then kidnaps woman at gunpoint

Occurred September 20, 2014.


21-year old Jaycee Yazzie got into an argument with his girlfriend in the parking lot of a Walmart store in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  When she refused to leave with him, Yazzie then pointed an AK-47 assault rifle at a couple bystanders, threatening to kill them.  She agreed to leave, and then the two of them left without Yazzie firing any shots.  Yazzie, himself, called police during the incident, giving his name and telling them he would shoot people.  One of the people he threatened also called 911.

The woman was not harmed.  Yazzie was later arrested.

From an article:

On Sept. 20, Rio Rancho police responded to a call about the man who told Albuquerque dispatchers he had an AK47 and would start shooting people if officers didn’t respond immediately, according to Rio Rancho Police spokesman Lt. Paul Rogers.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Sandoval County Magistrate Court, Yazzie gave his name during the call.

He fled before officers arrived and witnesses were not able to provide enough information for police to take immediate action, Rogers said, but Rio Rancho Police detectives investigated.

Shortly after officers locked down Walmart due to the threat, a woman called 911 and said a man had pointed a gun at her and her boyfriend in the store parking lot, according to the criminal complaint. The couple told police in later interviews that a man matching Yazzie’s description pointed a handgun at them and threatened to shoot them if a woman he seemed to know didn’t go with him.

The witnesses said the woman agreed to go, and she and the suspect drove away, according to the complaint.

Detectives located the owner of the cell phone used to make the 911 call threatening to shoot people, and an investigator spoke with her Sept. 22. The owner, a woman about 50, said she and Yazzie had been dating for about a year, according to the complaint.

After some resistance, she told officers she and Yazzie had gotten into an argument in the Walmart parking lot and he threatened to hurt a couple walking by if she didn’t leave with him, according to the complaint. She told the detective she was afraid and didn’t want to go, but agreed to after he threatened the other couple.

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Robbery suspect pulls gun on officer at New Mexico Walmart store

Occurred August 1, 2014.


A police officer, responding to a report of a robber at an Albuquerque Walmart store, discovered the suspect was in the store under suspicion of shoplifting.  The suspect then pulled a gun on the officer, and when the officer responded by pulling his gun, the suspect fled to a nearby store but was arrested.  An accomplice may have been involved.

Luckily, no shots were fired.

From an article:

An Albuquerque Police Department detective trying to identify an auto break-in suspect got more than he bargained for Friday.

He went to the Walmart near Coors and Ouray to browse through archived surveillance footage of a suspected auto burglar who had allegedly used a stolen credit card at the store, according to APD spokesman Tanner Tixier.

As soon as he found the footage, a Walmart loss prevention officer noticed that the same man was in the store Friday trying to shoplift.

A loss prevention officer went up to the man, and the man pulled a gun on the officer, Tixier said.

The APD saw what was happening and then pulled out his gun.

That’s when the suspect put the gun in his pocket and fled to a nearby Home Depot parking lot, where he jumped into a car.

A man “pretending” to do work on the car then ran into the Home Depot.

The suspect in the Walmart case probably will face charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Police said they were trying to figure out whether the second man was involved.

Neither was identified by police Friday.

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Shootout injured 3-year old girl in New Mexico Walmart parking lot

Occurred April 11, 2014.

Scene of shooting at Espanola Walmart (source)

(UPDATED -- See below)

Individuals in two cars, in the parking lot of a Walmart in Espanola, New Mexico, got into a conflict.  Shot were fired from both vehicles.  Stray bullets hit the Walmart store and also injured a 3-year old girl in the leg.

From an article:

A white Nissan Maxima pulled up and someone inside started shooting at the SUV.

At least one person in the explorer fired back and together the people in both cars fired off between five and six rounds.

Police say one of those bullets hit the Walmart window and another hit the three-year-old girl in the leg as she and her family were leaving the store.

She wasn’t badly injured and detectives say the girl’s father didn’t even know she had been hit until they got home.

They say no one else was hurt.

“We feel it’s an isolated incident. It may be gang related. We’re working diligently to apprehend the individuals responsible, said Detective Corporal Solomon Romero.

The girl has been released from the hospital.

Bullets don't know when to stop.

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UPDATE (4/18/14):  Two young men, ages 19 and 20, have been arrested for the shootout and wounding of the little girl.  The shooting was most likely gang-related and the culmination of years of dispute between the young men.  From an article:

Española Police said 20-year-old Mackie Roybal is the man behind the gunshot that injured a three-year-old girl caught in the crossfire. “We’re taking this very seriously and we’re not going to put up with this type of behavior within the City of Española,” said Detective Corporal Solomon Romero of the Española Police Department. 

Romero said Roybal and 19-year-old Dylan Vigil started shooting at each other from their vehicles last week in the Walmart parking lot. The little girl was in a shopping cart, leaving the store with her dad, when she was hit in the leg with a gunshot. 

She’s alright and back at home, but police said things could have been a lot worse. The car police say Vigil was driving that night is riddled with about six bullet holes along the drivers side, including one in the windshield. .... 

Police said Roybal even bragged about the shooting on Facebook, but then later deleted it. He’s charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, shooting at a vehicle, negligent use of a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence. Vigil is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, shooting at a motor vehicle, tampering with evidence and negligent use of a deadly weapon.

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Shoplifter with gun threatens, then robs, Walmart employee in New Mexico

Occurred February 4, 2014.

(UPDATED -- See below)


A man shoplifted electronics from a Walmart store in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  When a loss-prevention employee tried to stop him, the suspect pulled out a gun, threatened the employee, then stole the employee's cell phone before fleeing.

From an article:

Police learned that a man suspected of walking out of the store without paying for electronic items was approached in the parking lot by a Walmart loss prevention officer. As the employee was on the phone with a 911 operator, the suspect pulled out a gun and threatened the loss prevention officer.

The suspect stole the employee’s cell phone and then fled the parking lot in a white minivan.

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UPDATE (2/5/14):  A 19-year old, Brandon Armando Herrera-Lozoya, has been arrested for the robbery.

Shots fired in New Mexico Walmart parking lot

Occurred September 23, 2013.


Four men were involved in an argument in the parking lot of a Walmart store in Carlsbad, New Mexico.  When two of the men drove away, the other two fired a dozen shots at them.  Luckily, no one was wounded.

Bizarrely, the men who were shot at decided not to press charges, and apparently the police dropped the case!

From an article:

Two men involved in an early-morning shooting say they're not interested in pressing charges against their attackers, according to the Carlsbad Police Department. The men were going into Walmart around 2 a.m. Monday when they got into an altercation with two other men outside the store, said Carlsbad Police Lt. Jennifer Moyers. The attackers fired rounds at the men as they drove away from the scene, Moyers said. No injuries were reported. 

Det. Blaine Rennie said approximately 12 rounds were fired. A witness to the shooting told police he saw the four men talking in one of the vehicles before the shooting occurred. 

The victims told police they don't want to press charges. No description of the attackers was provided, and Moyers said the department has completed its investigation.

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Three Texas teens found with stolen realistic pellet guns, drugs, and stolen car at Walmart in New Mexico

Occurred July 23, 2013.


Three teen boys from Texas, ages 16, 17, and 18, were on the run with a stolen car and wound up being captured in the parking lot of a Walmart in Carlsbad, New Mexico.  In the car with them were three realistic-looking pellet guns and drugs.  At least one of the guns had been reported stolen  from a Walmart store.

From an article:

Baca checked the license plate and VIN number on the vehicle and discovered the truck had been stolen out of Seminole, Texas, where the two juveniles, Javier Mares and Curtis Kelly, were from. Officer Norman Bowie found several homemade marijuana pipes, loose marijuana, three black pellet handguns and bottles of Crown Royal and Malibu Red inside the vehicle, according to the police report.  

The report states officers caught the driver of the Toyota Tundra, later identified as Edgar Madrid, 18, of Hobbs, attempting to break into another vehicle south of Walmart.  

Baca said an officer saw a gun on the ground in front of the Dumpster where Madrid was hiding and asked Madrid to raise his hands. Madrid then started to reach down to his waistband, most of his body still behind the Dumpster, Baca said. Officers reportedly did not know the gun was fake and had been stolen from Walmart until Madrid was placed in custody. 

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Former Walmart security employee arrested for stealing guns from Walmart

On Christmas Day, 2012, six guns were stolen from a Walmart in Los Lunas, New Mexico, when the store was closed, as I previously reported here at Walmart Shootings.

Four men have now been arrested, and all six guns have been recovered.

One of the men involved in the robbery was a former Walmart security employee.  The other three were juveniles.

From an article:

Los Lunas police say they have recovered six guns stolen from a local Wal-Mart in a Christmas Day burglary, and four people have been arrested. 

Twenty-three-year-old Emilio Larsen of Albuquerque, a former employee who worked in Wal-Mart's security department, is being held in the Valencia County jail on charges that include breaking and entering, aggravated burglary, criminal damage, conspiracy and tampering with evidence. 

Police Chief Roy Melnick says three juveniles will also be charged in connection with the burglary. Two of them are accused of taking items from the store and the third allegedly acted as a lookout. 

Among the items stolen were five Remington rifles, a Remington shotgun and a game console. 

Melnick says it was important to recover the guns so they would not fall into the wrong hands.

Walmart might want to be more careful who they hire for security.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster. 

Six guns stolen from a New Mexico Walmart on Christmas Day

Scene of gun theft at Los Lunas Walmart

Occurred December 25, 2012.  

At 2AM on Christmas Day, three men broke into the Walmart in Los Lunas, New Mexico, and stole six firearms, including five hunting rifles and a shotgun, as well as laptop computers and MP3 players, loaded them into shopping carts, and fled with the items.  In all they got $30,000 worth of goods.

Here is a news video on the heist.

Here is a gallery of the stolen firearms.

Police are now offering to buy back the firearms.

From an article:

The Los Lunas Police Department is even willing to pay to get its hands on the five rifles and a shotgun by reimbursing anyone what they paid for the guns if they bought them without knowing they were stolen. 

In return, investigators are asking for any information on these thieves. 

Several of the 40 security cameras at the Walmart recorded the crooks taking the guns out of their cases at the Walmart on State Route 6 at about 2 a.m. on Christmas. 

But even with all that footage, the three people concealed their identities with dark clothes and hoods. 

The trio loaded up three shopping carts with equipment before heading out to a white pickup truck, which leads police to believe a fourth suspect was the driver. 

Los Lunas Police Chief Roy Melnick says the crooks took hunting rifles, not assault weapons. 

“There were assault rifles at Walmart,” the chief says. “These suspects looked at them, took them out of the case and then put them on the ground. They didn't want them. 

"That tells me they have specific person or persons to purchase these guns, probably hunters.” 

The rifles are Model 700 bolt-action Remingtons, three of them .30-06 caliber and one .270 caliber.  The shotgun is a .20-gauge semiautomatic Remington Model 11-87.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

UPDATE (1/14/13):  Four people have been arrested for the robberies, including a former Walmart security employee.  Six guns have been recovered.

Man injured in gang shooting at Walmart in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Occurred February 2, 2012.

An argument broke out inside a Walmart store in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and spilled out into the parking lot.  There, one man was shot in the stomach.  The victim was armed, as well, and police say it was likely a gang-related shooting.

From an article:

Police said there was an altercation inside the store that spilled into the parking lot. 

Junior Beltran, 25, was shot in the stomach in the parking lot. He was listed in stable condition at University of New Mexico Hospital on Thursday night. 

"We had just walked in, and a minute later, people started running in and they kept saying that somebody was shooting out here," said witness Phil Jaramillo. 

Police said Beltran was not an innocent bystander. They said he and another man he was with were armed, as well. 

"It's gang activity without a doubt," said Rob Gibbs, of the Albuquerque Police Department. "There's some sort of gang activity occurring, and unfortunately that could happen any time at any part of the city." 

The 911 tapes from witnesses at the scene revealed that callers in and outside of Walmart were in disbelief of the situation. 

"I think somebody?s been shot," a 911 caller said. "There was a fight outside in the parking lot, because I see a man standing here bleeding." 

Police said Beltran has a criminal record, pleading no contest in 2008 to stolen car charges. According to police, Beltran is a member of the Southside gang, and he was shot by a member of a rival gang called the TCK.

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