Police arrest fifth suspect in shooting that killed 5-year-old

Detectives have arrested a 19-year-old woman in the drive-by shooting that left a child dead earlier this month at a mobile home park in Southwest Albuquerque — the first adult and fifth person to be charged in the case.

Sencheray Hernandez is charged with an open count of murder and other charges in the Aug. 13 death of Galilea Samaniego.

Police arrested Hernandez on Thursday after she was found with her boyfriend, 17-year-old Jose Ramirez, who is also a suspect in the shooting.

Hernandez is the only adult who has been charged in the case.

Jose Ramirez, Alexander Barraza, 15, Yahir Carballo, 16, and Ramirez’s younger brother, Alan Ramirez, 15, are the others who have been charged so far.

All five are being represented by the Law Offices of the Public Defender.

In a statement, Albuquerque District Defender Dennica Torres said “our young people really need to be educated about the dangers of gun violence.”

“Gun violence prevention just has to be at the forefront, not only at home, but in schools, and everywhere we possibly can, so they understand the repercussions,” she said.

Hernandez told police she was with the group when the shooting occurred but didn’t fire a weapon, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. When asked for more details, Hernandez told police “she did not wish to answer any further questions.”

Following her interview, detectives obtained an arrest warrant that charges her for the murder,” said Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman.

Samaniego’s mother, in a GoFundMe post started for the girl’s funeral costs, wrote, “We never expected this to happen we all heartbroken never thought my little baby would die this way.”

Police say the drive-by at the Vista del Sol mobile home park, near Unser and Blake SW, started as a result of a feud between Jose Ramirez and the grandson of the woman who lived in the trailer where Samaniego was killed.

The fight between the two teenage boys escalated to the point of a string of shootings between the two groups, including the drive-by that killed Samaniego, according to police.