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A judge sentenced Omar Cordero to two years of supervised probation for his role in a 2018 robbery that led to the shooting death of 20-year-old Clifford Patterson.
Cordero, 20, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit armed robbery, 2nd Judicial District Court Judge Bruce Fox said before sentencing Thursday.
Police said Cordero was one of five high school students who planned to rob Patterson during a drug deal on April 20, 2018, in Southwest Albuquerque.
Criminal cases are pending against three of Cordero’s alleged co-conspirators.
Patterson was in the driver’s seat of a car in the 9700 block of Gemstone SW, near 98th and Central, when he was shot once in the back of the head. He died at the scene.
A witness told police Patterson had arranged through Facebook messenger to meet the youths in a cul-de-sac and sell them a quarter pound of marijuana when he was fatally shot.
Fox said Cordero was not in the car at the time of the shooting, but conspired with others to rob Patterson.
Cordero served eight months at the Metropolitan Detention Center before he reached a plea agreement in May 2020 and was released, Fox said.
Others charged in connection with Patterson’s death are:
• Gabriel Martinez, 18, who pleaded guilty in 2019 to unlawful possession of a handgun by a minor and faces up to two years in juvenile custody. A sentencing hearing had not been scheduled.
• Giovonta Martinez, 18, entered a plea agreement in 2020, which remains sealed. He is scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 10.
• Dominic Padilla was charged in juvenile court and records in his case remain sealed. Padilla was 16 at the time of Patterson’s killing.
A fifth person charged in the robbery, Ryan Saavedra, 18, was fatally shot in April at Westgate Heights Park near Unser and Arenal SW, police said. No arrests have been made in Saavedra’s killing.
