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Two men convicted in killing outside Central Avenue tattoo parlor
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A jury on Friday convicted two men of second-degree murder in the 2023 beating death of 30-year-old Jonathan Arsenault outside a Central Avenue tattoo parlor.
Brian Lee Garcia, 52, and Jesse Steven Cook, 48, each were convicted by a 2nd Judicial District Court jury of second-degree murder and conspiracy in Arsenault’s fatal beating killing on Dec. 29, 2023.
Garcia and Cook, both former employees of the tattoo parlor, are scheduled for sentencing Jan. 21 before District Judge Brett Loveless.
Albuquerque police were dispatched to the intersection of Central and Monroe NE after 911 callers reported a beating in progress, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
Officers found Arsenault lying face down on a sidewalk in the 4800 block of Central Avenue. He was transported to University of New Mexico Hospital where he died nearly three weeks later.
The owner of Albuquerque Ink Tattoo told the Journal at the time that Garcia and Cook were his employees and were attempting to protect the shop from an attack of vandalism at the time of Arsenault’s death.
Garcia told police he was in the back of the tattoo shop when he heard a loud bang, according to the criminal complaint. Garcia said he walked to the front of the shop and saw a broken window and a man lying on the ground outside the shop, it said.
Garcia and Cook both told police that they held down Arsenault but didn’t strike him, the complaint said. Witnesses told police that Garcia and Cook hit and kicked Arsenault and pushed him down when he tried to get up, it said.
Each man initially was charged with aggravated battery with great bodily harm but the charges were upgraded to second-degree murder after Arsenault’s death.
