Man accused of gunning down mother's boyfriend inside Northwest Albuquerque home

Apparent tension that had been building between a woman’s son and her boyfriend erupted into gunfire Tuesday on the West Side, leaving the boyfriend shot dead and the son charged with murder, according to court documents.

Paul Otero, 34, whose place of residence is listed as Albuquerque and Corrales in court records, is facing an open count of murder. He’s being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, and it’s unclear if he has an attorney.

Otero told police he “wanted to kill” his mother’s boyfriend, according to a criminal complaint filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. Police have not identified the person killed, as his next of kin had not been notified.

The Albuquerque Police Department responded to a call of a shooting in the 3400 block of Alpha NW, near Coors, at 5:12 p.m. Tuesday. When officers arrived, the woman was in a bedroom performing chest compressions on her boyfriend. First responders arrived and unsuccessfully tried lifesaving measures, the complaint said.

The woman told police her son — later identified as Otero — shot her boyfriend before walking out of the home with a handgun. Otero was found in an alleyway nearby, APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said.

She said Otero and her boyfriend were living with her at the time of the shooting, police said.

The woman told police that earlier, she was about to start dinner when she heard her boyfriend yell to Otero that he wanted him out of the house.

As the woman tried calming him down, she saw Otero come out of the bathroom with a handgun. She asked him to give her the gun, but he ignored her. “Paul told her, ‘OK,’ and walked into the bedroom where (the boyfriend) was and she heard five-six gunshots,” according to the complaint.

Witnesses heard the woman tell the boyfriend, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have yelled,” police said.

A witness shared video with police showing Otero walking out of the home after the shooting and carrying a handgun. The footage also showed the mother running to a neighbor’s house “yelling and requesting assistance,” the complaint states.

Otero told police that after the boyfriend got home that afternoon, the boyfriend was frustrated and “disgruntled,” having moments of anger. Otero told police he “had had enough” with how the boyfriend was speaking to him. Otero told police he thought about shooting “this (expletive) guy” for a couple of weeks, police said.

Otero told police he shot the boyfriend “because (he) was coming at him verbally, and he wanted to kick him out of his house,” the complaint states.

The mother told police Otero suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and at times she was scared that he might kill her or her boyfriend, police said.

“Paul did disclose that he does have mental disorders but did not disclose what he has been diagnosed with,” according to the complaint. “He did make random statements throughout the interview that, at times, showed remorse, but at times there was none. He made rambling statements that appeared he may have mental issues.”

Otero was wanted on a warrant in connection with a September charge of nonresidential burglary after he allegedly broke into a gas station convenience store and stole food and whiskey, court records show.