APD arrests teen allegedly involved in May 2023 accidental shooting in Southwest Albuquerque

The Albuquerque Police Department has arrested a teen allegedly involved in an accidental shooting that left a 17-year-old dead.

Leroy Hernandez, 17, is being charged with involuntary manslaughter, attempted murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in the May 11 death of Santiago Garcia.

Hernandez’s attorney could not be reached for comment.

APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said officers arrested Hernandez at a traffic stop Thursday in Northeast Albuquerque. The arrest comes about eight months after Hernandez reportedly fatally shot his friend by accident.

At about 11:53 p.m. on May 11, according to a criminal complaint filed at Metropolitan Court, APD was dispatched to a call of multiple gunshots in the 1400 block of Dona Arcelia, near Don Arogon and Airport. Officers found Garcia and a young man, both of them armed, with gunshot wounds. Garcia later died at a hospital.

The complaint states the other man who was shot told police he saw lasers from guns pointing toward his home and armed himself. The man told police he exchanged gunfire with someone outside and was shot multiple times.

The man told police, the complaint states, that he recently had a dispute with some people in a black Buick sedan, and one of the passengers was wearing a bulletproof vest. The man told police he suspected the shooting had to do with that altercation.

The complaint states that he told police he said he did not know if the incident was planned, as he did not plan anything or hold a grudge.

Garcia’s mother said to police that Hernandez told her he and Garcia had hung out earlier in his apartment, but someone had picked him up. She then said Hernandez drove a dark blue two-door sedan that matched the vehicle at the crime scene. She also told police that a friend of her son said Garcia had a “beef” with the man who survived his gunshot wounds, according to the complaint.

Gallegos said detectives later confirmed through cellphone data that Garcia and Hernandez were together at the time of the shooting, and that Garcia was shot by Hernandez’s firearm in the incident.