Man sentenced to four years in fatal 2022 shooting

A man was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday in a 2022 shooting death initiated by accusations of careless driving in Southwest Albuquerque.

Jarod McKenzie, 22, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of Joshua Romero.

McKenzie was sentenced after entering the plea before 2nd Judicial District Judge David Murphy.

Police responded around 1 a.m. on June 2, 2022, to a shooting in the 1250 block of Mimbres SW, a few blocks from 98th and Gibson, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

They found Romero dead in the front yard of a home.

Romero began fighting with McKenzie in a dispute about McKenzie’s driving, a witness told police.

A friend of Romero’s said they were walking from a gas station when a driver nearly hit them and parked nearby, according to the criminal complaint.

Romero knocked on the driver’s window and told him, “Watch where you’re going,” which led to a physical fight between the two men, the complaint said. At some point, McKenzie pulled a gun and fired several shots at Romero, it said.

McKenzie told police he was “annoyed” because the men were walking in the street, according to the complaint. He said the men confronted him, and he became upset because they were in the wrong for walking in the street.

McKenzie said he got out of his vehicle and thought the “mere sight” of a gun on his hip would deter a fight, the complaint said. McKenzie ended up on the ground and “may have been losing consciousness and felt it was necessary to pull out his firearm,” it said.

McKenzie told officers he shot at the person standing over him but was unsure if the gunshot struck him until he saw the man collapse in the front yard, the complaint said.