Man accused of attempting to shoot and kill friend's ex-girlfriend

Police arrested a man accused of trying to shoot and kill his friend's ex-girlfriend in early March — an incident that ended in the friend’s death after the victims returned fire in what police say was self-defense.

Jeremy Muñoz, 46, is facing three counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of shooting at or from a motor vehicle, tampering with evidence, reckless driving, larceny and nearly a dozen other charges.

Muñoz was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Tuesday. He does not yet have an attorney.

In a pretrial detention motion, prosecutors said Muñoz endangered the public with his "indiscriminate gunfire."

The man who shot and killed Muñoz’s friend, 41-year-old Sean Martin, has not been charged. Albuquerque police are investigating Martin’s death as a justified homicide.

Around 12:45 a.m. March 4, officers were dispatched to the 5300 block of San Mateo, south of Osuna, after receiving a call from a man who said his friend — later identified as Martin — had been shot in the chest by someone in another vehicle, according to a complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. 

Martin was taken to a hospital where he died of his injuries. Police searched Martin’s vehicle, which had a single bullet hole in the driver’s side door, and found drugs, a pair of binoculars and a metal baseball bat, according to the complaint. 

Officers learned it was Muñoz who called 911, the complaint states, but he was not near the scene when police arrived and did not respond to calls.

When police tracked down Muñoz, he said he had been walking in the area when Martin told him that he had been shot and asked to be taken to a hospital, according to the complaint. Muñoz said he did not know who Martin was before telling them he had known him for "less than a year." 

"(Muñoz) changed his story multiple times before stating that he was with (Martin) before the shooting," the complaint states. 

Police obtained phone records and used automatic license plate readers to determine where Martin and Muñoz had been at the time of the shooting and learned Martin had been messaging his ex-girlfriend, according to the complaint. 

Officers spoke with Martin's ex-girlfriend, who said Martin had been stalking, harassing and threatening her for weeks, the complaint states.

On the night of the shooting, she told police, Martin chased her and tried to ram his vehicle into hers near Second and Candelaria NW, according to the complaint.

Video from the area showed the two vehicles in a high-speed chase for several minutes and at least eight gunshots were heard, the complaint states.

Detectives determined Muñoz and Martin fired 14 gunshots at the Hummer while driving west on Aztec NW, between Second and 11th, said Gilbert Gallegos, spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department, in a Wednesday news release.

Martin's ex-girlfriend and other people in the vehicle drove to a friend's house and, as they left the area, Martin approached the vehicle, the complaint states. At that point, one of the people in the vehicle shot at Martin in what they told police was self-defense.

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.