Teen arrested in fatal shooting at Albuquerque house party

An 18-year-old has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a man at a house party earlier this year in Northeast Albuquerque.

Daniel Arredondo is charged with an open count of murder, tampering with evidence and unlawful possession of a handgun by a person under 19 in the death of Alberto Peres. Arredondo was arrested and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Monday. 

Police say Arredondo initially denied being involved in the shooting and later told officers he fired at Peres in self defense.

"Defendant has tried to be deceptive with law enforcement, and the court should have no doubt defendant will be equally evasive and disrespectful regarding conditions of release or pretrial services," according to a pretrial detention motion.

On July 6, officers were dispatched around 3:45 a.m. to the Sun Pointe Park Apartments, near Montgomery and Carlisle, after receiving several calls that someone had been shot at a house party, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. 

Police arrived and found Peres dead with a gunshot wound, the complaint states. 

Officers spoke with Peres' girlfriend, who said that Peres and Arredondo got into an altercation after Arredondo bumped into her, which upset Peres. The woman told police the two were arguing when Arredondo said 'Alright, I'll be back' and walked out of the apartment, according to the complaint. 

The woman told police that shortly after, she heard a gunshot and heard Peres say he had been shot while he held his chest, the complaint states. 

Around three hours later, officers were dispatched in response to a domestic dispute call after a woman called police and said her relative, Arredondo, told her that he had shot someone at a party a few hours earlier, according to the complaint. 

The woman told police Arredondo said he wasn't sure if the person had died or not and kept saying he needed to "get out of here," the complaint states. The relative told police that Arredondo had recently gotten a gun for his birthday and carried it with him everywhere. 

When police arrived, Arredondo jumped from the apartment's second story balcony and ran north, according to the complaint. Police apprehended Arredondo as he attempted to jump another wall and he surrendered to officers.

He later told officers he jumped from the balcony because he "was confused by the presence of the police," the complaint states.

Arredondo told officers that a group of men had gotten into a fight at the party, which is when shots were fired, according to the complaint. Another relative told police Arredondo said he had shot at a man who was reaching for something in his waistband, the complaint states. 

Officers spoke with Arredondo again, who changed his statement and said Peres had threatened him with a gun as Arredondo was walking out of the apartment, according to the complaint. 

"(Arredondo) stated that the male pulled up his shirt, showing him a black handgun tucked into his waistband stating 'you better watch out,'" the complaint states.

Arredondo told police that he fired at Peres when he pulled out the gun, according to the complaint. Multiple witnesses told officers that they did not see Peres with a gun.