Man struck by vehicle dies; driver arrested
Victim was allegedly stealing when intentionally struck by Hummer
Christopher Pino told police he was tired of people breaking into his Nob Hill property and stealing his stuff.
So when he saw two men with his radio in a nearby alleyway on Sunday, he plowed his red Hummer into them, striking and critically injuring one of the men, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Metropolitan Court Friday.
That man, Daniel “Scooby” Arballo, died from his injuries Monday.
It is unclear from the affidavit whether police believe he had stolen the radio.
Pino, 51, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon on Sunday and was released on a $25,000 bond the next day.
Friday evening, detectives arrested him again — this time charging him with murder.
Celina Espinoza, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said it took several days to get the warrant, even though they had been informed of Arballo’s death on Tuesday.
Around noon on April 30, officers were called to Central and Solano and found Arballo lying severely injured in an alleyway. Pino and his red Hummer were still nearby.
According to the affidavit, Pino, a local real estate agent, told officers that a neighbor had called to tell him that two men were taking stuff from his property on Silver and Solano SE — the vacant Trinity United Methodist Church.
He told police that, when he arrived, he saw two men carrying a radio that looked like his.
“Pino then intentionally struck one of the males at approximately 20 miles per hour and was trying
to hit the other male so they could be contacted by police when they arrived,” the detective wrote in the complaint.
Instead, when police arrived, they took Arballo to the University of New Mexico Hospital trauma center. He was unresponsive and was pronounced dead the next day.
Arballo’s friend, Billy Harper, told police he saw Arballo cleaning weeds and branches from the old church and decided to help him, according to the affidavit. He said they found some old speakers and were taking them to the Dumpster when they were struck by the Hummer going 40 miles per hour.
Harper was able to jump out of the way, but Arballo was struck and went “flying,” according to the affidavit. Harper said Pino shook a shovel at him and yelled at him for “stealing from my church.”
Detectives filed another warrant for Pino’s arrest, charging him with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was booked into the county jail Friday evening.
Pino has several prior traffic related charges, including leaving the scene of an accident and driving while intoxicated, according to online court records.
Pino could not be reached Friday, and it is unclear from court documents if he has an attorney.