Albuquerque man charged with murder in home invasion robbery that left one dead

Prosecutors have filed a motion to keep a man accused of allegedly shooting one man and killing another during an August home invasion robbery behind bars.

Daniel Rivera, 41, of Albuquerque is charged with an open count of murder, conspiracy, aggravated burglary, robbery with a deadly weapon, felony possession of a firearm and other lesser charges in the death of Alfonso Romero. He was arrested and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Thursday.

"There are no release conditions that can keep Defendant from acquiring firearms, and terrorizing or harming 2 more members of our community," the motion states. 

Rivera is also accused of beating a woman who showed up at the home during the incident and robbing another woman who was inside the home, Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said in a news release.

At around 8 a.m. Aug. 9, Albuquerque police officers were dispatched to the 9000 block of Copper NE, just south of Lomas and Interstate 40, after receiving calls that someone had been shot while being robbed, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. 

The caller told police her son and nephew were shot after two masked men with guns broke into the home and demanded money, police said. The woman told officers she was asleep when she heard two men outside of her nephew's bedroom asking about money and drugs. 

"... The males then went into her room and put a gun to her head, saying, 'Give me the money and the drugs,'" according to the complaint.

One of the men, who told the woman they were "not playing" and they would kill everyone in the home, fired a gun by her ear before dumping the woman's purse on the floor and leaving her bedroom. Shortly after, she heard two gunshots and found her nephew, Romero, on the ground, the complaint states.

The woman told police the men spoke Spanish to each other and at some point said they were part of the Jalisco Cartel, according to the complaint. 

Officers surveilled the area and found a "bloody partial shoe print" near Romero's leg, blood on the bed and saw an air conditioner unit had been pushed out of the window, police said.

Some time later, the other man who had been shot — Jose Roybal — arrived at Kaseman Hospital with a gunshot wound to his neck, according to the complaint.

Officers spoke with Roybal, who said the masked men had kicked in the door while he was asleep and announced themselves as police. The men allegedly told Roybal not to move before shooting him in the neck, police said. 

Roybal told police the men kept asking for money and stole his wallet. He was not sure why the men went into the house looking for drugs and money and said he believes they were looking for someone else, according to the complaint.

Police obtained video footage that showed two vehicles arrive at the house around 7 a.m., the complaint states. Two men and a woman exited the vehicles, entered the residence and left shortly after. 

Officers used license plate readers to track the vehicles and identified Rivera as the owner of one of the vehicles, according to the complaint. No other arrests have been made in the case.

Police said they obtained Rivera’s cell phone records and saw that his phone was at the home during the time of the shooting.

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.