Boys charged in 15-year-old's killing during gun deal-turned-robbery on West Side

Two teenage boys are behind bars in an alleged New Year’s Eve robbery attempt that left a 15-year-old dead at a park in Southwest Albuquerque.

Adrian Torres, 17, and Uriel Alonso, 16, are each charged with an open count of murder, armed robbery, tampering with evidence and conspiracy in the Dec. 31 killing of Manuel Ortega.

Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman, said Torres was arrested on Thursday, while Alonso turned himself in to police Saturday.

Both have been booked into the Bernalillo County juvenile detention center.

Detectives alleged Torres and Alonso planned to rob Ortega’s 14-year-old brother after he asked to buy a gun from Torres, according to court records. Ortega’s brother wrestled with Alonso when he pulled a gun on him during the deal and Alonso shot twice, hitting Manuel Ortega.

Ortega’s brother then fired 17 rounds from his own gun as Torres and Alonso drove away, police say.

When asked if the brother was being charged for allegedly firing at the car, Gallegos replied, “not at this point.”

Officers responded around 6:20 p.m. to a shooting at Anderson Mesa park, in a neighborhood northeast of Unser and Dennis Chavez, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. Officers found a crowd of people surrounding Manuel Ortega, who had been shot twice and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Ortega’s brother was among the crowd and told detectives Manuel Ortega had set up a deal to buy cannabis vape cartridges. The brother told police only he was allowed in the car and the driver, who was wearing a ski mask, pointed a gun at him and they wrestled over it.

Ortega’s brother told police the driver said, “Don’t make me do this,” and fired at him twice, striking Manuel Ortega as he stood outside the car, according to the complaint. The brother said another person in a ski mask came out from behind a bush and also pointed a gun at him, telling him to get out of the car.

Police said the brother told them he fired at the car as the pair drove away and then sought help for Manuel Ortega. The following day, someone called 911 saying Torres “wanted to turn himself in” for the crime but wasn’t home when officers arrived.

Torres’ sister told police that Torres said he and Alonso were selling a gun to someone when the “deal went wrong” and the buyer pulled out a gun, leading to a shootout with Alonso, according to the complaint. The sister told police Torres is known to carry guns and is on probation for cocaine possession.

Police said the sister told them Alonso called her crying and gave her the same story but that he didn’t want to turn himself in. Detectives determined the car used in the crime was Torres’ mother’s and she told police her son uses the car despite not having a license.

Torres came back home and turned himself in, telling police, “I plead the Fifth until I get a lawyer,” the complaint states. Detectives found Torres’ mother’s car abandoned the next day with a bullet hole to the rear passenger side, believing it was from a gunshot fired by Ortega’s brother.

Police said a search of the phone belonging to Manuel Ortega’s brother showed he asked to buy a gun off Telegram from “juaneatstoes.” The seller asked for proof of money and detectives found a photo on the brother’s phone of fanned-out bills beside a black gun.

At 6:15 p.m., “juaneattoes” messaged Ortega’s brother, “I’m in a tan Impala,” according to the complaint. Four minutes later, police were called to the shooting.