State Police arrest suspect in fatal casino shooting

State Police have arrested a man accused of fatally shooting another man outside a casino in northern New Mexico.

Gerald Trujillo, 21, is charged with second-degree murder, negligent use of a deadly weapon and two counts of tampering with evidence. He turned himself in the same day of the shooting, according to a news release from Sgt. Ricardo Breceda, spokesperson for New Mexico State Police.

On Sunday, State Police were dispatched around 12:45 a.m. to the Ohkay Hotel Casino, north of Española, after receiving calls that a man, identified as 21-year-old Elias Tiberi, had been shot, according to an arrest affidavit filed in Rio Arriba County Magistrate Court.

Upon arriving, officers learned that a security guard with the Ohkay Casino had escorted a man out when he heard a “bang,” the affidavit states.

The security guard saw a Mustang leave the parking lot “abruptly,” according to the affidavit. Shortly after, a man told the security guard his friend had been shot. While speaking with the man, the officer saw the Mustang reenter the parking lot before leaving again.

The man told police he was hanging out with Trujillo and Tiberi in the casino’s parking lot when the two began snorting cocaine, the affidavit states.

“Sometime after snorting the cocaine, (Trujillo) produced a black pistol and began waving the pistol around towards the roof,” according to the affidavit.

Tiberi asked Trujillo to stop and at one point, Trujillo pointed the gun in Tiberi’s direction as he tried to push it way.

Moments later, the firearm fired, striking Tiberi in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the affidavit.

Trujillo pulled Tiberi out of his vehicle before driving away, the affidavit states. When he returned to the parking lot, he approached Tiberi’s body briefly before leaving the parking lot again.