Alleged slaying by released inmate reaches trial

When a woman asked Devin Munford to move a car parked behind her own vehicle, he responded by pulling out a shotgun and firing a gunshot over her head, she testified Monday at his murder trial.

Prosecutors allege that Munford was on pretrial release and wearing a GPS ankle monitor when, later that day, he fatally shot a “friend” he had met at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Munford, 21, faces a charge of first-degree murder in the April 23, 2021, killing of 22-year-old Devon Heyborne, who was shot in the arm and the chest when he answered the door of his apartment in the 800 block of Locust Place NE, near the Big I.

Munford’s trial began last week in 2nd Judicial District Court before District Judge Joseph Montano. Munford also faces charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault and multiple counts of tampering with evidence and conspiracy.

Earlier the day of Heyborne’s killing, Munford allegedly fired a gunshot at Susan Sloan in the parking lot outside her Southeast Albuquerque apartment.

“I asked him if he could move his car,” Sloan told jurors. Munford, who was standing outside the passenger door of a Mazda sedan, cursed at Sloan, then drew a shotgun out of his shirt, she said.

He first pointed the gun at her face, then fired a gunshot over her head, she testified. Munford faces a charge of aggravated assault in that incident.

On April 25, 2021 — two days after Heyborne’s killing — Munford and two other youths allegedly robbed a 7-Eleven store in the 5400 block of Kathryn SE.

Jurors heard testimony Monday from Matthew Young, a cashier at the 7-Eleven, who identified Munford as the gunman who pointed a shotgun at him and demanded, “give me all the money in your register.” Munford was arrested later that day.

About four months earlier, in January 2021, Munford had been released from the Metropolitan Detention Center, court records show. The conditions of his release required him to wear a GPS ankle monitor and placed geographical restrictions on his movements.

Prosecutors allege Munford obtained a shotgun and used it to kill Heyborne after the two argued over a stolen AK-47 rifle.

The District Attorney’s Office of Criminal Strategies Unit was able to identify Munford through a Snapchat video posted 30 minutes after the homicide in which he was observed rapping and showing off a shotgun, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

GPS location data from Munford’s ankle monitor placed Munford near Heyborne’s apartment at the time of the killing, the complaint said.