Arrest made in Sept. homicide at an East Central bus stop
Prosecutors: Suspect ‘callously and casually’ killed victim
Albuquerque police detectives have arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting of a man late last month at a bus stop along East Central.
Henry Atkinson, 37, is charged with an open count of murder in the Sept. 30 death of 42-year-old Elijah Pino, a member of Zia Pueblo.
Detectives arrested Atkinson near First and Central on Friday and he was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
Prosecutors filed a motion to detain Atkinson until trial, saying he “callously and casually” killed Pino and “does not value human life.”
Court records show Atkinson has been arrested several times on domestic violence and drug charges. He was charged in June after allegedly chasing a man around Central with a knife but prosecutors dismissed the case when they couldn’t reach the victim.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court:
Police responded to the shooting at Central and Wyoming around 2 p.m. and found Pino shot dead near the bus stop. Witnesses told police the man responsible was known as “St. Louis” and had shot Pino following a fight.
Surveillance video from the bus and surrounding area showed the suspect — later identified as Atkinson — get off the bus with four other people. Police said the group approached Pino and a fight broke out among them.
A woman with the group was taunting Pino when Atkinson walked up and shot him repeatedly before throwing him to the ground and “casually” walking away. A witness told police Pino and Atkinson had argued before the shooting started.
The witness picked Atkinson out of a photo array as the shooter and told the detective, “I don’t even have to look” at the other photos to be sure.