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Argument over pool table preceded fatal shooting at ABQ tavern Wednesday night, police say
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A worker has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a man at an Albuquerque pub on Wednesday night following a dispute over a pool table, police said.
The Dragonhorn Tavern employee, Jeremy Saiz, 30, has been charged with an open count of murder, tampering with evidence, unlawful carrying of a firearm in a licensed liquor establishment and negligent use of a deadly weapon in the killing of James Silver.
Officers in the Albuquerque Police Department’s Foothills Area Command responded to the shooting around 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Dragonhorn Tavern, 2906 Juan Tabo NE, police spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said. Silver, 38, was found “deceased with a gunshot wound to his chest,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.
According to the complaint, an employee said they saw Saiz playing pool alone when Silver walked up and asked to join the game. The employee said Saiz “refused,” which led to an argument.
Surveillance video showed Silver left the building. About a minute later, Saiz walked at a “fast pace” from the back of the building to the front door, his right hand inside his gray sweatshirt pocket and appearing to hold a “black object.”
Saiz pushed open the front door and fired a single gunshot, which officers said hit Silver in the chest. A witness to the shooting walked back into the building, followed by Saiz, who walked toward the back in “the same direction where he was seen coming from,” according to the complaint.
The video showed a gun in Saiz’s hand as he re-entered the tavern before putting it back in his sweatshirt. Silver was seen stumbling back into the tavern, where he collapsed.
Police later learned Saiz was at a different location and wanted to turn himself in. When he arrived, police found Saiz’s red Dodge Durango with a handgun “seen next to the steering column,” according to the complaint.
