Man convicted of murder in 2020 killing outside smoke shop

A jury on Thursday convicted Roman Cerna in the shooting death of a man outside an Albuquerque smoke shop in 2020.

Jurors deliberated about five hours Thursday before finding Cerna, 28, guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of 23-year-old Chance Elkshoulder.

Albuquerque police said Elkshoulder was fatally wounded in the parking lot of the Dank Smoke Shop, near San Pedro and Kathryn SE.

A first-degree murder conviction will require Cerna to serve at least 30 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. Second Judicial District Judge David Murphy has not scheduled a sentencing hearing.

Police arrested Cerna in June 2023, nearly three years after the July 12, 2020, killing.

Even though police identified a person of interest within months, the detective originally assigned to the case left the unit, resulting in lengthy delays in the investigation, according to a 35-page criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

Elkshoulder was fatally shot in front of his teenage sister, who had taken him to the shop to buy cigarettes, according to the complaint.

As Elkshoulder exited the store, a man in dark clothing called him over, the sister told police. Moments later, the man shot Elkshoulder, then got on a motorcycle and left the parking lot, the complaint said.

Witnesses and smoke shop employees flocked to Elkshoulder after the shooting. He was loaded into his sister’s car, who drove him to a hospital, where he died.

Police didn’t identify a motive for the killing.

The shooting was captured on a security video. Cerna was identified as a suspect in early 2021 after images were released through a Crime Stoppers bulletin, but little work was done on the investigation in 2021, according to the complaint.

In February 2022, the detective originally assigned to the case left the homicide unit and the investigation was reassigned, the complaint said.

A witness who knew Cerna reviewed the footage and said she was “95%” certain he was the man in the images, it said.

Facebook messages reviewed by police showed that Cerna contacted friends in the middle of the night, shortly after the shooting.