Suspect arrested in homecoming party murder
A 19-year-old male is being held without bond, APD says
Police have arrested a suspect in the slaying of 17-year-old Sandia High School student Sean Markey, who was shot at a homecoming party last month.
Izaiah Garcia, 19, was arrested Monday by SWAT officers with the Albuquerque Police Department.
“Following an investigation by APD homicide detectives, Garcia is being charged with an open count of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said in a Monday night news release.
He did not give any details on the case, and the court records have been sealed until Garcia’s first court appearance.
Gallegos did not say when that will be or give any other information.
“The arrest warrant will have more details,” he told the Journal. Garcia is being held without bond. Gunfire erupted during a house party in the early hours of Sept. 29 causing teens to run from the home on the 3900 block of Garcia, near Montgomery and
Eubank.
Tricia Thompson-Ruger, Markey’s mom, told the Journal at an Oct. 1 vigil honoring her son that he and his friends had tried to get away.
“He ran and his friends said he told them ‘I got shot’ and they just put him in the car,” she said.
Markey died at Kaseman Hospital.
Thompson-Ruger said she wasn’t allowed to see her son’s body after rushing to the hospital.
“All I wanted to do was see him,” she said, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I can’t accept anything because I still haven’t — I just wanted to hold my baby.”
Family and friends at the vigil all described Markey as a sweet, happy kid with a “smile that could warm your heart.”
Just minutes before the chaos unfolded, posts about the party and subsequent disturbance flooded a neighborhood watch app.
Residents complained there were “about 40-50” cars parked along the street in front of the home where the party was taking place and dogs in the area wouldn’t stop barking.
But the tone of the posts quickly changed.
“Shots fired … kids running and screaming. I just called APD,” one woman wrote.
“I feel terrible now that I didn’t call the cops sooner and ask them to break up the party,” said another man in a post. “I was thinking about doing that … but then the shots rang out and it was too late.”
In a news briefing the day after the incident, Gallegos announced a new effort from APD and the city to try and curb party-related shootings.
“Over the last several weeks, we have noticed an uptick in the number of house parties throughout the city that have resulted in dangerous and deadly gunfire,” he said.
Markey was one of five teenagers shot and killed in Albuquerque in September alone.
Last week, City Council approved $280,000 for the “party intervention team,” which Gallegos said will focus on combating underage drinking, drug use and party violence, and will hold parents and homeowners accountable when things get out of hand.