Man arrested after fatal shooting during car chase

Police arrested a man accused of fatally shooting another man over stolen property during a car chase in Southwest Albuquerque in late June.

Angelo Barela, 33, is charged with an open count of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and shooting at or from a motor vehicle in the June 25 death of Demetrius O’Neill, 36.

Barela was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center late Thursday. It is unclear if he is represented by an attorney.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court:

On June 25, police responded to a shooting near Central and Coors and found O’Neill shot. O’Neill’s girlfriend told police they were driving in the area when they noticed a car following them.

The girlfriend told police she recognized the driver as Barela, O’Neill’s former coworker. O’Neill had burglarized Barela’s car days earlier, stealing a handgun, per the report. She said during the car chase O’Neill threw the stolen gun out the window but Barela continued to chase them.

The girlfriend told police that Barela pulled alongside them and fired several shots at them, striking O’Neill in the head. O’Neill was taken to the hospital. It was reported to police he was not expected to survive, but O’Neill held on for almost two weeks, dying on July 7.

“Demetrius was a loving father, son, brother, friend, and cousin all gone to soon due to gun violence,” according to a GoFundMe post for O’Neill’s funeral expenses.

Police conducted a search of Barela’s Facebook account and found that, on June 20, he posted a photo of O’Neill asking in an expletive-laden message if anyone knew where to find him.

In a Facebook message to someone who commented on the post about the burglary, Barela wrote, “When I catch him he’s gonna wish he didn’t.”

Police searched Barela’s phone records and found he was in the area at the time of the shooting, and video footage showed his car pursuing O’Neill’s.