Beer pong shooting suspect faces jail

Luis Delgado pleaded no contest to charges, could be sentenced to 14 years

One of the men charged in a 2016 fatal shooting stemming from a game of beer pong pleaded no contest this week to aggravated burglary and aggravated battery.

Luis Delgado, 24, was arrested more than a month after the New Year’s Day 2016 shooting. In state District Court on Monday, a prosecutor said Delgado helped injure one man and murder another.

Joray Chavez and Robert McCoy were both shot during the party in northwest Albuquerque, with Chavez dying later at a local hospital. According to police, Nathan Ware got into a fight with the two over a game of beer pong — a game where teams throw ping pong balls into cups of beer.

Ware left the home after the fight, but returned later with two men, police said. He pointed to Chavez and McCoy, and said “get them.”

Prosecutor Daniel Roberson called Ware the “mastermind” behind the shootings.

Ware pleaded guilty in November to second-degree murder, aggravated battery and conspiracy. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by four years of probation, according to court documents.

“The strength of the evidence against Luis is not as strong,” Roberson said during the hearing Monday.

According to a criminal complaint, police searched Ware’s cellphone and learned that he had been communicating with Delgado around the time of the shooting. Delgado also admitted forcing his way into the apartment with Ware and said he “blacked out” when he heard gunshots, police said.

His sentencing hearing has not been scheduled. He faces up to 14 years in prison.