Driver who hit suspected thief faces 6 years
ABQ real estate agent pleads no contest to voluntary manslaughter
An Albuquerque real estate agent faces up to six years in prison after running a man down in April 2017, according to police and prosecutors. On Tuesday, Christopher Pino pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter before state District Judge Cristina Jaramillo. Pino told police he drove to an old church on Silver and Solano SE that he owns after a neighbor called to tell him someone was taking items from the building. Pino said when he arrived he saw two men carrying a radio that he believed was his, according to a criminal complaint. “Pino then intentionally struck one of the males at approximately 20 miles per hour and was trying to hit the other male,” an Albuquerque police officer wrote in the complaint. Daniel “Scooby” Arballo later died of his injuries. Michael Patrick, a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office, said Pino will be sentenced in August. Patrick said prosecutors have lost track of a key witness, a man who is experiencing homelessness and has since left the state. Without his testimony, he said, the second-degree murder charge Pino faced would have been hard to prove. Ahmad Assed, who is representing Pino, said in a statement that his client is remorseful. “Clearly his actions on that day don’t reflect the quality of his quality life up to that moment,” Assed wrote. “He has been an amazing and upstanding citizen who has a great heart and has always strived to help those that are less fortunate.”