'Fender bender' led to fatal 2021 shooting, attorneys tell jurors

A fatal shooting that followed a minor collision was a “terrible accident” that began when Adelio Gallegos Jr. tried unsuccessfully to get information from the man who struck his car, resulting in an argument between the two men, Gallegos’ attorney told jurors Monday, the first day of his trial.

Gallegos, 43, faces charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the Jan. 25, 2021, killing of 63-year-old Mike Guerra outside a methadone clinic at 123 Madeira SE, south of Central. The trial is scheduled through Friday before 2nd Judicial District Judge Courtney Weaks.

“Adelio (Gallegos) only wanted to get information from this person — driver’s license, insurance — things that are normal to get from people when an accident occurs,” Gallegos’ attorney, Keren Fenderson, said in opening statements.

Instead, “Mr. Guerra got very angry and said threatening words to Mr. Gallegos, and he started moving towards him with his cane raised,” Fenderson told jurors.

Gallegos then retrieved a gun from his vehicle, “not to shoot the guy but just to scare him,” Fenderson said. “His intent was not to kill this man. It was just to scare (Guerra) and stop him from threatening Mr. Gallegos.”

Fenderson asked jurors to convict Gallegos of second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter, which are listed as lesser-included charges in his indictment.

Prosecutors allege that the incident that led to Guerra’s death was a simple “fender bender” that enraged Gallegos, resulting in an argument captured on security video.

“In this video, you’re going to see Adelio Gallegos walk alongside of Mr. Guerra’s vehicle,” prosecutor Jolanna Macias told jurors. “The evidence is going to show that Adelio Gallegos was aggressive and angry.”

The older Guerra was ill with COVID-19 and “no match” for Gallegos, Macias said. “You’re going to see Mr. Guerra raise his cane in an effort to defend himself.”

The two men parted ways briefly, “and that’s where it should have ended,” she said. Instead, Gallegos brought a rifle from his car.

“Mr. Guerra then gets back out of his vehicle,” she said. “More words are exchanged, and then Adelio Gallegos shoots and kills Mike Guerra.”

Both Gallegos and his girlfriend were clients at the methadone clinic, a clinic employee testified on Monday.

Albuquerque police said Gallegos drove from the scene after the fatal shooting, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metro Court. Officers found Guerra with a gunshot wound to the chest. He died at a hospital.

Police arrested Gallegos and executed a search warrant at his residence on Jan. 6, 2022, nearly a year after the killing, the criminal complaint said. The complaint doesn’t explain the delay in Gallegos’ arrest.

Gallegos told investigators that he and his girlfriend were sitting in his parked car when Guerra backed into it, the complaint said. Gallegos said he confronted the other driver, who would not give him any information and called him “a punk.”

Gallegos also told police he grabbed a rifle from his car and pointed it at Guerra, the complaint said. He did not realize the rifle had fired because “it did not make a loud sound.”

Gallegos told police he threw the rifle out of a moving car in the South Valley about a week after the killing, the complaint said.