20-year-old man arrested in stabbing death of brother

Police say fight led to fatal knife attack

Police say a fight between two brothers ended when one stabbed the other to death at a southeast Albuquerque apartment complex on Monday night.

Police arrested 20-year-old D’Andre Ravenel after they say he stabbed his older brother Dezmond Ravenel, 22, to death at the Pearl apartments, near San Pedro and Gibson SE, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

Ravenel is charged with an open count of murder.

Police say officers responded to the apartment complex around 7 p.m. when Carisa Ravenel reported that one of her sons stabbed the other in the chest.

Officers found Dezmond Ravenel with a stab wound to the chest, according to the complaint. He was taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries.

Police arrested D’Andre Ravenel, who was still at the scene. Ravenel told police his brother Dezmond “thinks he is so aggressive” and “came after me.”

Although officers reminded him of his right to remain silent, Ravenel kept talking, according to the complaint. Ravenel asked if police could check on his brother and lamenting that he “stabbed my own (expletive) brother.”

During questioning, the mother, Carisa Ravenel told police she was in her bedroom when D’Andre Ravenel started to kick her door while yelling and screaming for a cigarette.

Police say the mother heard Dezmond Ravenel tell D’Andre Ravenel to calm down before the two began to fight.

The mother told police she came out to see Dezmond Ravenel sitting on the bed “holding his chest.” D’Andre Ravenel was “apologizing” as he tried to help his older brother by “putting pressure” on his wounds and using a wet towel to “wipe his face.”

Police say D’Andre Ravenel then started to panic, saying he “needed to get out of there” right as police arrived.

D’Andre Ravenel told police the fight began after Dezmond Ravenel began to talk about his younger brother’s depression and jumped on top of him, punching him repeatedly.

Ravenel told police his older brother is “way bigger” and he “could not get away,” but was able to pull out a knife and “stab that (expletive) twice.”

Police say D’Andre Ravenel had no injuries to his face or head, which was inconsistent with his story of being attacked by his older brother.

ROBERTO E. ROSALES/JOURNAL Albuquerque homicide detectives look on as officers take D’Andre Ravenel, third from the left, into custody in the stabbing death of his brother during an investigation near Gibson and San Pedro Monday night.