Man sentenced to life in 2019 shooting death

A judge sentence Adam Cazares to life in prison on Thursday for the 2019 shooting death of a man during a robbery at a Northeast Albuquerque apartment complex.

A jury convicted Cazares, 34, in October of first-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Calvin Kelly, who was killed by a single gunshot on July 10, 2019.

The conviction requires Cazares to serve at least 30 years before he is eligible for parole.

Cazares maintains his innocence in the killing, his attorney, Stefanie Gulley, told state District Judge Jennifer Wernersbach at a sentencing hearing Thursday.

The 2nd Judicial District Court trial marked the second time Cazares was tried on the same charge. Jurors failed to reach a verdict in the first trial in October 2022.

Kelly’s mother, Paulette Barber-Sullivan, said Thursday that she has waited years for a resolution in the complex case.

“This has been a long time coming,” Barber-Sullivan told the judge. “I was just waiting for my son to get his justice, and I have four other children that have not been able to cope.”

Cazares’ co-defendant, 19-year-old Jassiah Montoya, pleaded guilty in 2021 to first-degree murder for his role in Kelly’s death. Montoya, who was 15 at the time of the killing, was sentenced to 21 years in prison.

Albuquerque police found Kelly in the parking lot of The Retreat at Candelaria apartments at Morris and Candelaria NE with a gunshot wound to his back. He died at the scene.

Witnesses told police they heard a single gunshot and saw a white car fleeing the area.

Police said that a robbery attempt by Cazares and Montoya led to Kelly’s death, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

A witness told police that Montoya and Cazares walked up to Kelly, held him at gunpoint and ordered him to empty his pockets, the compliant said. When Kelly tried to run, Cazares shot him in the back with a rifle.