Murder suspect stays in jail
Judge cites flight risk, property crime history in setting $250K bail
A man charged in the fatal stabbing of a homeowner who confronted him during a vehicle break-in in the Four Hills neighborhood, along with his alleged burglary accomplice, is behind bars on $250,000 cash-only bail set by a judge in Metropolitan Court on Monday.
Tyler Hernandez, 25, is charged with murder and burglary, and Craig Whited, 26, is charged with aggravated auto burglary, conspiracy, possession of burglary tools, and tampering with evidence.
Police say the two men were breaking into vehicles at homes in Four Hills early Saturday when resident William “Bill” McKinley, 55, confronted Hernandez.
Whited told police he saw Hernandez and McKinley fighting in McKinley’s driveway. He said he saw McKinley slump to the ground, and Hernandez told him he had stabbed him, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. When police arrived, McKinley’s fatherin-law was trying to stop his bleeding. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Hernandez and Whited were arrested
late Saturday after a tipster called police. Police are looking for the vehicle the pair were driving.
At the suspects’ felony first appearances Monday, Judge Vidalia Chavez followed the recommendation of pretrial services and set Hernandez’s bail at $250,000, cash only, and Whited’s at $50,000, cash only.
Both men have pleaded guilty to nonviolent property crimes in the past, including burglary and larceny, a history Chavez cited when setting bail for each man.
“Given the extreme danger to the community, flight risk and a long history of similar offenses, I’m going to set bond to $50,000 cash only,” she said about Whited.
An attorney representing Hernandez said he has been living in Albuquerque for seven years and has been employed for the past year. Whited has lived in Albuquerque all his life and is unemployed, the attorney said.
McKinley’s daughter, Valerie McKinley, said that she was pleased with the cashonly bail but that she wishes they could have been higher.
“It’s just an apathy towards life,” she said, adding that she is worried that if the men are allowed out they will commit more crimes.
Bill McKinley’s close friend, Todd Underhill, said he feels that both men should be held responsible for his death because they were both breaking into cars. He pointed to their history of property crimes.
“I would think with this kind of history something would be done to prevent them from being released,” Underhill said. “Especially when the end result is a loss of life.”
Celina Espinoza, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said Whited hasn’t been charged with murder because there’s no indication he was involved in the fatal stabbing.
“In this situation, with everything we’ve found so far, it doesn’t appear that (Whited) knew about the weapon, knew about what they were planning to do or his friend’s actions,” she said.
Valerie McKinley said her father’s death still hasn’t sunk in. She said it’s hard to imagine that the family was just celebrating Christmas and exchanging gifts, and now her father is gone.
“Right now, we’re all in a fog,” she said. “I’ve gone to call my dad multiple times today and realized it’s not an option anymore.”