APD: Man shot wife in Walmart break room
Victim in critical but stable condition
An Albuquerque man is accused of walking into a Walmart store in the middle of the afternoon Friday and shooting his wife in the head in the employee break room.
Maurice Lacey, 64, is charged with aggravated battery against a household member with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with intent to commit a violent felony with a firearm enhancement. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
The shooting left 43-year-old Kenisha Wilson in critical, but stable, condition, police said.
Police responded around 1 p.m. to a domestic violencerelated shooting inside the Walmart Neighborhood Market in the 4700 block of Cutler NE, near San Mateo and Interstate 40, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
Officers detained Lacey at the front of the store and found Wilson on the floor of the employee break room with a gunshot wound to the back of her head.
Police said an employee told officers she and Wilson were standing in the break room, facing away from the entrance, when she heard a loud gunshot. The woman said she turned and saw Lacey standing over Wilson holding a gun.
The employee told police Lacey said, “that’s what she gets for messing around,” and asked the employee “is she cheating?” according to the complaint. The woman said “out of fear” she told Lacey “yes” that Wilson was cheating.
Police said Lacey then told the woman, “stay there or you’ll be next,” and walked out of the break room. An employee working at the customer service desk told officers Lacey walked up and placed a gun on the counter and said, “I just shot my wife.”
The customer service employee grabbed the gun with a plastic bag and put it underneath the counter until police arrived, according to the complaint.
Security camera video captured Lacey walking into the break room with a gun in his hand and leaving moments later.
Police said Lacey refused to speak with a detective without a lawyer present but then asked how his wife was doing.
A detective wrote in the complaint, “I informed him that was confidential information.”