CRIME
APD arrests teen in fatal shooting during suspected gun deal
Late-January shooting left a 17-year-old boy dead, teenage girl injured
Published
A 17-year-old was arrested after allegedly shooting two other teens, killing one of them, during an attempted gun sale in Southwest Albuquerque last month.
Eduardo Huerta was arrested Thursday and charged with an open count of murder, aggravated battery with great bodily harm, shooting at or from a vehicle and tampering with evidence in the Jan. 20 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Ethan Cruz.
Huerta will be booked into the Juvenile Detention Center, Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said in a news release Thursday.
Police identified Huerta through video surveillance and phone data, he said.
On Jan. 20, detectives learned Huerta and Cruz set up a gun deal over social media and agreed to meet at the Allsup's parking lot in the 9500 block of Gibson SW, near Unser, according to the news release.
Shortly before 7 p.m., police said Cruz got out of a Nissan and spoke with people in a red Infiniti before leaving. The Infiniti followed Cruz before both vehicles stopped and "several gunshots were fired," Gallegos said. ShotSpotter indicated 23 shots were fired at 6:54 p.m. in the area where the cars stopped, the release states.
When officers arrived, they found Cruz in the passenger seat with gunshot wounds to the head and leg and a 17-year-old female in the driver's seat who had been shot in the leg, he said.
The two were taken to a hospital, where Cruz died, according to police.
"Homicide detectives used license plate readers to help identify the red Infiniti and compare its location history to data and social media content obtained from Cruz's phone," Gallegos said.
Detectives linked the Infiniti to an Atrisco Heritage Academy High School student, identified as Huerta, the release states. School surveillance video and Huerta's phone data "connected him to the scene of the shooting on Jan. 20," Gallegos said.
Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.
