Teen takes plea deal in death of bartender
Andrew Hubler admits to 7 felonies, could face up to 21 years in prison
One of the Albuquerque teens accused of spending a summer night breaking into cars and homes and, in the process, fatally shooting a wellknown, local bartender at his home pleaded guilty Tuesday to seven felonies.
If sentenced as an adult, Andrew Hubler, 16, faces up to 21 years in prison under the terms of his plea agreement with the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. He also promised to cooperate in the prosecution of the remaining teens accused of participating in a June 2015 night of “mobbing” that left Steven Gerecke, 60, dead in his driveway. Hubler will be sentenced after his codefendants’ cases are resolved.
Hubler initially faced 40 charges, but pleaded guilty before District Court Judge Brett Loveless to seven, including aggravated burglary and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. Police said that Jeremiah King, 17, admitted that he was the shooter.
“As we went through the interviews and examined the various statements by the
individuals involved, compounded by what the physical evidence could provide and support,” prosecutor Larissa Callaway said, “we believe this plea best represents what Mr. Hubler’s involvement was that night.”
Hubler’s DNA and fingerprints were found inside Gerecke’s home, Callaway said, after the hearing.
“The evidence doesn’t get much better than that,” she said, calling Hubler an “essential witness.”
Hubler attorney Cindy Leos said her client was not armed and “had nothing to do with the shooting of Mr. Gerecke.” She commended Callaway for sorting out the night’s events and offering pleas based on each teen’s alleged role.
“I mean, there’s this group of kids that were doing this, and they all had different degrees of culpability,” she said.
Loveless told Hubler, before accepting his pleas, that under New Mexico law “if you have an accomplice who commits the crime and you aid and abet in its commission, you’re held as responsible as if you have committed the crime.” Hubler then admitted that he helped someone else enter the Gerecke home, while armed, intending to commit a felony.
An amenability hearing to determine whether he should be sentenced as an adult or a juvenile will likely take place in about two months, Loveless said. Gerecke’s widow, Vinnie Gerecke said after the hearing that she anticipates the group will be sentenced as juveniles.
“I see that coming. I don’t have any higher expectations than that,” she said. “I would love to see them sit in jail for the rest of their lives because they took a life. They were all a part of it.”
King, Ryan Archibeque, 18, and Christopher Rodriguez, 17, along with Hubler were charged in the death and are also being tried as adults. Two more teens were tried as juveniles.
King was in court last week as his attorney, Tom Clark, asked Loveless to postpone his trial, originally scheduled to begin this Monday. Clark explained he was in court the last few weeks on another trial and worried that he could not effectively represent King with so little time between trials. Loveless agreed to extend that trial date, but has not issued an order specifying when it will take place.
Clark said King was offered a plea deal that would resolve nine counts involving credit card theft. The remaining counts he faces, including first degree murder, will be handled separately.
Archibeque pleaded guilty in June to four felonies, and his amenability hearing is pending. Rodriguez’s attorney wrote in a motion this month that he and prosecutors are working toward a plea agreement.