Man faces murder charge in shooting

Former Santa Fe resident accused in El Llano death

State prosecutors are accusing a former Santa Fe man of killing a recent neighbor who had been helping him move some of his belongings into his new home in El Llano.

Jullian Medelez, 45, is facing a charge of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 32-year-old George Albert Lewis II of Santa Fe, whose body was found by state police officers Sunday night in the living room of Medelez’s new home on El Caballo Quino Drive in El Llano, a community northeast of Española.

State police have not released a possible motive in Lewis’ death.

Police and prosecutors have said Medelez might have been the man who called 911 from the El Llano home that night, telling dispatchers he and another person were trying to prevent a stabbing. The caller sounded extremely intoxicated and swore at dispatchers and police, according to reports.

Officers who responded to the call encountered Medelez on the front porch, wielding a knife. Reports said he threatened to get a gun and shoot the officers and yelled at them to leave, counting “3, 2, 1” as he reentered his home.

Medelez later told the officers there was a dead man in his home, “lying on my floor, bleeding.”

Police struggled with Medelez, who suffered minor injuries, but was tackled and arrested, reports said.

Officers found Lewis face down in a pool of blood. He had suffered a gunshot wound to the head consistent with a .22-caliber handgun.

A black .22-caliber handgun with blood on it was found on a nearby recliner and two spent .22-caliber casings were found outside the home, according to reports.

Police said in search warrant affidavits that blood, as well as prescription medication and alcoholic beverages, were found throughout the house. There also were two knives near Lewis’ body.

It appeared Lewis had been shot while sitting on a futonstyle couch, which was covered in a large pool of blood, and his body later was moved to the floor, the affidavits said.

Blood also was found on Medelez’s vehicle, which was parked outside the home.

Medelez, who had blood spatter on his shirt, shorts and fingernails, told officers he did not know the dead man, reports said.

A neighbor told police Medelez had just moved into the home the week before.

Lewis’ mother told officers her son had known Medelez for about a year and that the two had lived in the same apartment complex in Santa Fe. She had seen her son leave the complex with Medelez on Sunday morning, she said, according to reports, and he had told her he was helping Medelez take a load of belongings to the man’s new home near Española.

Later that day, Lewis left a voicemail for his mother, saying Medelez’s vehicle had a flat tire and was leaking oil, and that he would not be home until the next morning, police said.

According to police, an autopsy performed Tuesday concluded Lewis had a single gunshot to the left cheek, fired from no more than 6 inches away.

Medelez also is charged with tampering with evidence, aggravated assault on police officers and resisting officers.