Jury acquits Gonzales of first-degree murder

Jurors on Thursday acquitted Joseph Gonzales of first-degree murder in the 2022 shooting death of a man who confronted Gonzales for yelling “slow down” on a South Valley street.

But jurors failed to reach a verdict on a lesser charge of second-degree murder, voting 10-2 in favor of convicting Gonzales in the fatal shooting of 35-year-old Abner Antillon.

Jurors reached the verdict on the first-degree murder charge on Thursday after two days of deliberation. The trial began April 23 before Judge Lucy Solimon.

The 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office plans to retry Gonzales on the second-degree murder charge, a spokeswoman said. Gonzales remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Minutes before he was killed, Antillon was driving a vintage red International Scout in the 1600 block of Val Verde SW, near Isleta and Blake.

When he heard Gonzales shout “slow down,” Antillon put the vehicle in reverse and stopped in front of Gonzales’ residence, initiating an argument between the two men.

Prosecutors told jurors that Gonzales intentionally shot the unarmed Antillon three times in the back after the two men argued about the speed limit on the street.

Video and audio from a neighbor’s security camera showed that after a brief argument, Gonzales drew a handgun from a holster and fired a single shot into the ground, followed quickly by three gunshots at Antillon as he retreated toward his vehicle.

Antillon was struck twice in the back and once in the arm, witnesses testified. He died at the scene.

Antillon’s killing came about a month after Gonzales testified in the July 2022 trial of his brother, Fabian Gonzales, in the death of 10-year-old Victoria Martens. A judge sentenced Fabian Gonzales in October 2022 to 37½ years in prison after a jury found him guilty of child abuse resulting in death, seven counts of tampering with evidence and conspiracy.

Joseph Gonzales testified in his own defense this week that he fired in self-defense after Antillon “lunged” at him and threatened to kill him.

“I didn’t intend to shoot him at all,” Gonzales told jurors on Tuesday. “I intended to stop the threat.”

Gonzales’ attorney, Ahmad Assed, told jurors that Antillon “had an agenda.”

Antillon “didn’t like being told to slow down in a neighborhood street,” Ahmed said. “He had an agenda of confrontation, and violent confrontation, and a demeanor that was aggressive from the very get-go.”

Deputy District Attorney Christine Jablonsky told jurors in closing arguments that Antillon had no weapons on his person or in his vehicle.

Gonzales “made a conscious decision to shoot Abner Antillon three times as (Antillon) was walking away,” Jablonsky told jurors. “There’s nothing in (Antillon’s) hands. That’s not self-defense.”