Teenager sentenced to 24 years in drive-by killing of Albuquerque Academy senior

An Albuquerque teenager was sentenced to 24 years in prison Friday for his role in the 2022 shooting death of an Albuquerque Academy student at a West Side house party.

Cruz Medina, 18, pleaded guilty in October to first-degree murder, conspiracy and tampering with evidence in the death of 18-year-old Jada Gonzales.

Second Judicial District Judge Courtney Weaks sentenced Medina to the top end of the 17-to-24-year sentencing range called for in the plea agreement and required Medina to serve 85% of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Medina’s attorney, Adam Oakey, said Friday that Medina acknowledged firing gunshots into the house, although the fatal gunshot was fired by one of his co-defendants. Oakey said Medina grew up without a father and began using drugs at a young age and hanging out with older boys.

“He made a really, really bad mistake,” Oakey said of his client. “I believe that he’s really remorseful. Hopefully he can go in (to prison) and get some rehabilitation and hopefully change his life and come out a better person.”

Gonzales was a senior at Albuquerque Academy and had recently received a four-year scholarship to attend college at the time she was killed.

The Zuni Pueblo member was struck by a gunshot on Dec. 18, 2022, while attending a house party in the 5200 block of La Bajada NW. Medina was one of four teenagers charged as adults in connection with the killing.

One of Medina’s co-defendants, Isaiah Espinosa, 18, was sentenced in September to 29 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to firing the fatal gunshot into the house from a car. Espinosa pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, tampering with evidence and conspiracy in Gonzales’ killing.

Prosecutors argued that Medina was one of several teenagers who showed up uninvited after learning about the party on Snapchat.

The homeowners kicked out the group after they pulled out guns and posed for a video, prosecutor Jolanna Macias said at Espinosa’s sentencing hearing in September.

The teenagers were angry about being expelled from the party, Macias said. As the group drove away from the house, Espinosa pointed an AR-style pistol out of the car window and fired several gunshots, she said.

One of those shots penetrated several walls and fatally struck Gonzales in the abdomen.

Criminal cases remain unresolved for a third co-defendant, Jesse Parra, 21, who is charged with first-degree murder in Gonzales’ killing. No trial has been scheduled in the case.

Prosecutors on Nov. 15 dismissed one count of first-degree murder and other charges against a fourth co-defendant, Julian Prieb, 20, in Gonzales’ killing, citing “insufficient evidence to proceed currently,” court records show.

On Nov. 27, a judge ordered Prieb to remain in custody pending trial on seven counts of shooting at or from a motor vehicle and other charges in connection with seven shooting incidents in May and June 2023, court records show.