An Albuquerque man scheduled for trial next week for first-degree murder and other charges rejected a plea deal this week that would have limited his prison sentence to a maximum of six years.
The agreement would have required Alex Vallejos, 22, to plead guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated battery and a single count of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, 2nd Judicial District Judge Cindy Leos said at a hearing on Wednesday.
Vallejos is scheduled to begin trial Monday on charges of first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated battery, aggravated burglary, and two counts of conspiracy stemming from a confrontation that left one person dead and three others seriously wounded.
Vallejos’ attorney, Lisa Torraco, said during a brief hearing Wednesday that she had urged Vallejos to accept the plea deal.
“I have advised Mr. Vallejos this is against the advice of counsel,” Torraco told the judge. “I have encouraged him to accept the plea as the lesser of evils” and because of the potential prison time he faces at trial.
If a jury finds Vallejos guilty of first-degree murder, he faces a potential life sentence, which would require him to serve a minimum of 30 years before he becomes eligible for parole. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Monday.
Prosecutors allege that Vallejos was among a group of then-teenagers who entered a house in the 600 block of Arno SE on March 14, 2020, and fired dozens of gunshots, killing Jeff Baca, 38, and seriously wounding a woman and two teenage girls.
The conflict began earlier in the evening when one of Vallejos’ co-defendants, Anthony Lopez, “got into a heated argument about music” with one of the girls and was asked to leave the house, prosecutors told jurors in a trial last year for another co-defendant.
Lopez, 22, later called a group of friends who decided to return to the house with weapons, prosecutors said.
Lopez pleaded guilty in July 2021 to second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and aggravated burglary and faces between 20 and 22 years in prison, according to court records. Lopez’s sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.
Criminal cases of other co-defendants remain in various stages.
Nathaniel Hernandez, 21, was found guilty by a jury in 2022 of first-degree murder, attempted robbery and other charges. He was sentenced in August to life in prison.
Nathan Peco, 20, is charged with seven felonies, including first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated battery. His jury trial scheduled May 22.
Austin Crespin, 27, was tried in September 2022, when jurors failed to reach a verdict. A retrial has not been scheduled in Crespin’s case. He remains in custody at Metropolitan Detention Center.
