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An eight-year-old homicide case again came before a jury Monday when a retrial began for a man previously convicted of killing an Army veteran at an Albuquerque ATM in 2016.
Matthew Chavez, 34, was convicted in 2018 of second-degree murder and other charges and sentenced to 23½ years in prison in the shooting death of 24-year-old Tyler Lackey.
In October 2021, the New Mexico Court of Appeals ruled that the district judge was wrong to reject Chavez’s request for an instruction that would have allowed the jury to consider a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.
Then-New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas filed a petition asking the New Mexico Supreme Court to review the decision.
The state’s highest court rejected the petition in 2023, clearing the way for a retrial.
Lackey was killed on Feb. 5, 2016 after making a cash withdrawal from an ATM on Gibson Boulevard.
Both defense and prosecution attorneys on Monday offered jurors arguments similar to those made by other attorneys in Chavez’s 2018 trial.
Prosecutors argued that Chavez initiated the deadly confrontation by attempting to rob Lackey, who had a concealed-carry permit and drew a handgun to defend himself.
Chavez’s attorney responded that Lackey fired the first gunshot and escalated the conflict by pointing a handgun at Chavez and his girlfriend.
“Even though Matthew Chavez wanted to get money from Lackey, he very clearly was not looking for any real trouble,” defense attorney Chelsea Van Deventer told jurors.
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Chavez “had no intention of using his gun,” she said. “He used his gun only because he had been shot at.”
Chavez did have his handgun when he approached Lackey at the ATM near a pizza restaurant, Van Deventer said.
“Then, because Tyler Lackey begins to make threats, (Chavez) runs away,” Van Deventer told jurors.
Chavez retreated to his car and Lackey followed him, pointing his gun at Chavez and shouting threats and ultimately firing a gunshot at Chavez.
“Tyler Lackey’s aggressive response went on for over 100 seconds,” she said. “Tyler Lackey made the decision to become the aggressor.”
Assistant Attorney General John Duran told jurors Monday that Chavez initiated the deadly conflict by attempting to rob Lackey.
Chavez “was the one who started this whole thing by approaching Mr. Lackey at the ATM in the attempted robbery,” Duran said. “Mr. Lackey then responded in kind and with the amount of force that we feel was reasonable.”
The attempted robbery led to a heated exchange between the men, Duran said in opening statements.
“Even though Mr. Lackey did fire the weapon into the vehicle, it was the return fire, which was absolutely unreasonable and unnecessary,” he said.
Chavez fired multiple fatal shots at Lackey as he sped out of the parking lot, Duran said. Chavez and his girlfriend later doused the Pontiac they were driving with gasoline and set it on fire in an alley, Duran said.
