Albuquerque man behind bars in one double homicide now charged in another

A suspect already awaiting trial in one double homicide has been charged in a second, which happened months before the other and left the suspect’s uncle and the uncle’s longtime girlfriend shot to death in their home.

John Ballejos, 31, is charged with two open counts of murder in the May 31, 2022, killings of Hesiquio Cordova, 44, and Virginia Serna, 46. Ballejos attorney could not be reached for comment.

The homicides followed years of domestic disputes between Ballejos and the couple, who Ballejos lived with for some time and had threatened repeatedly until they filed restraining orders against him, according to court records.

Three months after the couple was killed, Ballejos was charged in the unrelated shooting deaths of his downstairs neighbors — Daniel Humphrey, 31, and his aunt Sonia Tenorio, 46 — who Ballejos blamed for his eviction.

Ballejos has been behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center since.

Prosecutors filed a motion to keep Ballejos there until trial, calling him “extremely dangerous.”

“He cannot be trusted to refrain from seriously harming others,” the motion reads. “He should be confined until his case is resolved.”

The family of Humphrey and Tenorio filed a lawsuit last year alleging that the Albuquerque Police Department’s failure to investigate or interview Ballejos in the deaths of Cordova and Serna allowed him to kill their loved ones.

Diego Chavira, Serna’s son, told the Journal he is relieved Ballejos was charged in the death of his mother and Cordova but he’s “sorry it took another family (to die) for (Ballejos) to be caught.”

“We knew it was him from the jump. I’m glad that justice has finally been served but I feel that it doesn’t change anything, it doesn’t bring the people back,” he said. Chavira said he felt the detective on the case stuck with it and did “a good job overall.”

Chavira added, “There was a time where maybe I felt (police) weren’t doing as much as they could be, but now that we’re at the beginning of the end of the process I can say that I feel that my family has gotten justice.”

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court:

Officers responded to a home in the 900 block of Eighth NW after Chavira called 911 to report finding Serna and Cordova shot to death inside. Serna had been babysitting Chavira’s 2-year-old daughter at the time. The girl was uninjured.

Officers found Serna with her 9mm pistol by her side.

Chavira told police he received a call from Serna’s cellphone only to hear his daughter crying on the other end of the line. When he went to the home, he found their bodies in different parts of the house.

Chavira told police that his mother and stepfather’s only enemy was Cordova’s nephew, Ballejos. He said the couple was afraid of Ballejos, which led Serna to buy the gun that was found by her side.

The complaint details no further investigation into the case until September, when Tenorio and Humphrey were shot to death.

A relative of the two identified Ballejos as the shooter from surveillance video and police found him at the home where Cordova and Serna were killed months earlier.

Officers detained Ballejos and searched a car parked in front of the house, which was owned by Cordova but reportedly driven by Ballejos. Police found a handgun in the center console that was purchased by Hesiquio Cordova’s father.

Detectives learned the bullet casings found at the scene of both double homicides matched the gun found in the car. Ballejos has refused to speak with detectives on the matter.

Chavira said while the family has some semblance of closure with charges being filed against Ballejos, he and his daughter miss and think about Serna every day.

“This person has still ruined our lives and we hope to find more peace within that,” he said. “I would like to hear him say his side of the story. I would like to know that he knows he did wrong.”