Man arrested in convenience store shooting
Police have arrested a man they say punched a convenience store clerk, then fatally shot a man who tried to defend her Saturday afternoon. A bystander pumping gas was also shot and treated for non-lifethreatening injuries.
Eric Ray Ford, 58, is charged with murder in the shooting of 24-year-old Michael Urioste, according to a news release from the Albuquerque Police Department.
Ford was arrested Sunday and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center. It is unclear who his attorney will be.
Witnesses said a man, identified by police as Ford, was causing a scene at the Circle K at Juan Tabo and Lomas NE around 12:20 p.m. Saturday, according to the release. Witnesses told police Ford punched the store’s female clerk after she repeatedly asked him to leave.
A bystander — Urioste — intervened and wrestled Ford to the ground outside the store, the release states. While the two men struggled on the ground, Ford’s wife came out of a nearby car and began to hit Urioste with a cane, according to police.
Police said Ford took out a firearm and fired multiple times, striking Urioste and another man. Urioste was taken to a hospital, where he died from a gunshot wound, according to the release. The other man was treated at the hospital and released.
Ford and his wife fled the scene, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
On Sunday morning, an APD detective conducted a traffic stop on a car that matched the one Ford was seen in during the shooting the day before.
The vehicle was stopped at the Four Hills Shopping Center at Central and Tramway NE, and Ford and his wife were detained for questioning.
Police later searched the motel room where the couple was staying and found a gun they believe was the one used in the shooting. Clothes matching those worn by the suspect in surveillance video from the Circle K and witness descriptions were also found in the room, the release states.