Albuquerque, The Paper. – New Mexicans are known to be serious about their green chile, but police say a Roswell man took it too far when he shot and killed a cousin in Albuquerque during a dispute over who had the hotter green chile enchiladas.
According to court records obtained by The Paper., the suspect, a 22-year old man from Roswell, traveled to Albuquerque last week to attend a professional training class. On Thursday afternoon, he arrived unannounced at the apartment of his cousins where the group the group drank alcohol and made green chile enchiladas. “There was no conflict between any of parties until [the suspect] began antagonizing [the victim] by claiming the chile in [the suspect’s] enchiladas was hotter than the chile in [the cousins’] plates,” an Albuquerque Police detective wrote in court filings. The Paper. does not identify the names of victims or persons accused of crimes until convicted by a court.
Three cousins went outside to “defuse” the situation, but the suspect and victim, who were both armed, eventually engaged in a physical fight. During the struggle, the victim’s gun fell to the ground. A cousin not involved in the fight told police he picked up the weapon, and the victim eventually turned to “walk it off.” The suspect then pulled out his own handgun and fatally shot his cousin “three or four times.”
The suspect fled in a vehicle that police tracked using automated license plate reader technology. He was arrested on an open count of murder and ordered held without bond by Metropolitan Court Judge Ramon Maestas.