Deputies arrest two people reportedly involved in South Valley double homicide

Two more suspects have been charged in a home invasion-turned-shootout that left two people dead at a South Valley home in October.

Bernadette Armijo, 50, and Jay Kriling, 52, both of Albuquerque, are charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence in the shooting death of 24-year-old Isaiah Montoya.

Ernie Estrada, 48, was also killed in the shooting, but authorities say he was an accomplice who entered the home with Armijo, Kriling and Israel Tijerina, who was charged Feb. 19 in the case.

All three are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Deputies were able to place Kriling and Armijo at the scene of the homicide through phone records, according to a criminal complaint filed at Metropolitan Court.

On Oct. 20, BCSO responded to a call of gunshots at a home in the 1200 block of Atrisco. Deputies found Montoya by the front door and Estrada inside a bedroom.

Deputies said Kriling was driven to the hospital after being shot in the face during the incident but refused to speak with authorities at the hospital. Surveillance video showed a pickup arrive with several people — including two resembling Estrada and Kriling — who then went into the home.

On Nov. 20, deputies found photos of an AR-15 rifle and a black rifle bag on Kriling’s phone and a text message from Armijo threatening to kill Montoya because he reportedly took Armijo’s belongings, the complaint states.

Six days later, a Rio Arriba County deputy told BCSO they pulled over Kriling’s pickup driven by Tijerina on the day of the homicide, the complaint states. Tijerina told the deputy he was in Albuquerque and hanging out with Kriling on the day of the homicide, deputies said.

Deputies said cellphone records for Kriling and Armijo put them at the scene of the shooting at the time it occurred.

Prosecutors filed a motion to keep Armijo behind bars, saying “there is evidence that she issued the death threat to the victim.”

“There is evidence that she was present at the scene of the homicide,” according to the motion. “There is evidence that she absconded with Israel Tijerina just after the killing.”