Alleged armed robber also a homicide suspect
FBI: He may have shot woman in a drive-by
Federal and local authorities are investigating an 18-year-old who they believe gunned down a woman riding her bike in northeast Albuquerque before committing a string of robberies late last month.
Christian Dix is charged with federal firearm offenses in connection with several armed robberies on Aug. 20.
The FBI says agents, along with Albuquerque homicide detectives, also consider Dix a suspect in a drive-by shooting that took the life of Stephanie Martinez, 23.
While the Albuquerque Police Department has remained mum on the Martinez case, and spokesmen did not respond to questions and requests for comment, a search warrant filed in U.S. District Court fingers Dix as a suspect in the killing.
According to the search warrant, surveillance footage showed Martinez riding her bike around 11 p.m. near Prospect and Quincy NE when a black car pulled up to the intersection.
Agents say Martinez fell off the bike and lay on the side of the road as the black car sped away.
According to the affidavit, a nearby ambulance crew found Martinez with multiple gunshot wounds and took her to a hospital, where she died. Agents say police found several .22 caliber bullet casings from where the black car had stopped and Martinez had fallen to the ground.
It is unclear why Martinez was shot and if she knew Dix.
Within minutes of the shooting, agents say Dix walked into a Giant gas station a few blocks away and pulled a gun on the cashier, taking several packs of Newport cigarettes and fleeing.
According to the affidavit, Dix walked into another Giant, near Lomas and San Mateo NE, and robbed the cashier at gunpoint, taking the money and firing two shots in the air as he fled.
Agents say Dix showed up at a third Giant, near Montaño and Coors NW, and pulled a gun on a man outside the store.
According to the affidavit, the man pulled a knife out and Dix left, without robbing the gas station.
Agents say Albuquerque police responded to the third robbery and found Dix in a black Mazda hatchback nearby.
According to the affidavit, Dix fled from police, driving fast and running red lights before crashing the car and trying to run away.
Agents say police caught Dix and took him to the substation, where he told officers he robbed the gas stations “because he was homeless and living out of his car.”
Dix did not mention shooting Martinez.
Dix told police he fired his gun into the air during the second robbery to “prove a point” and didn’t follow through on the third robbery because he “respected” the man who pulled a knife for “defending himself.”
Agents say APD homicide detectives searched Dix’s car and found a .22 caliber rifle and .40 caliber pistol.
“I believe the spent shell casings from the drive-by shooting and the second armed robbery may contain Dix’s DNA,” an agent wrote in the affidavit.