Shooting deaths require further investigation

Son charged in father’s death; father suspected of killing wife

Albuquerque police arrested a man they said killed his father — after, they said, his father shot at him and killed his mother Sunday morning.

But the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office has prepared a motion to dismiss the case without prejudice — meaning it can be refiled.

Lauren Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the office, said the motion states that “based on newly discovered video evidence and medical evidence, the State finds that further investigation is required.”

An Albuquerque Police Department spokesman said detectives have to do more investigating into both deaths, citing the discovery of new evidence and the results of an autopsy.

Raymond David Barreras III, 23, was booked into the county jail and charged with murder Sunday afternoon. An APD spokesman said he will be released.

Around 9:20 a.m. Sunday, officers were called to the Circle K on 98th, just north of Central, for reports of a shooting. When they arrived they found a man dead from a gunshot wound to the head.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, video camera security footage showed a man — later identified as 50-year-old Barreras Jr. — get out of a black SUV and approach a maroon Honda. As the Honda entered the gas station parking lot, Barreras Jr. — who is referred to as Raymond Jr. in the complaint — could be seen sprinting toward it.

“Raymond (Jr.) is observed taking a shooting stance while advancing towards the Honda which then exits the parking lot on the east side,” the detective wrote in the complaint. “It appears from this video that Raymond Jr. is firing a handgun at the Honda. Casings were located in the parking lot consistent with Raymond Jr. shooting at the Honda.”

Video footage from a nearby car wash

showed Barreras Jr. walking back to his SUV after shooting at the Honda. The Honda leaves the parking lot.

“After the Honda drives past Raymond Jr., Raymond Jr. is observed dropping to the ground as if he had instantly been incapacitated,” the detective wrote in the complaint. “I believe this to be the moment that Raymond Jr. was shot in the head.”

Barreras III, meanwhile, called 911 to say his father had shot at him and his girlfriend after finding them sleeping in the Honda. He expressed hatred for his father and said he was worried about his mother, 48-year-old Melissa Barreras, since his father had been using drugs and alcohol.

When officers went to the Barreras home a couple of miles away they found Melissa Barreras dead from a gunshot wound to the head. The home’s security camera footage did not show anyone but Barreras Jr. entering the front door that morning.

As he summed up the case, the detective wrote that the gunshot wound to Barreras Jr.’s head does not appear to be selfinflicted. He said Barreras III had a reasonable opportunity to leave the area but instead drove back to where his father was.