Nicholas Lucio, one of three men accused of confronting a Southeast Albuquerque woman over a motorcycle before she was shot and killed, has changed his plea from not guilty to no contest. The reversal moves forward a case that has stretched since the July 2025 killing of Ann Marie Chaires, with Lucio now facing sentencing at a future date tied to a conspiracy charge rather than the open murder count he originally faced.
According to KRQE, Lucio entered a plea agreement involving no contest to conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. The station reports he will be sentenced at a later date, though the specifics of that hearing have not yet been disclosed.
Chaires was killed on July 2, 2025, in Southeast Albuquerque, as reported by ABQ RAW. The same outlet notes that arrest warrants issued July 9 charged both Lucio and co-defendant Matthew Mitchem with an open count of murder and an open count of conspiracy to commit murder.
A Dispute Over a Stored Motorcycle Turns Fatal
Court records and police accounts describe the confrontation as rooted in a disagreement over a motorcycle. Lucio and two other men are accused of confronting Chaires on July 2 at an apartment complex, per the same KRQE report. Police said the men accused Chaires of selling Mitchem's motorcycle, which he had stored at the apartment, and demanded that she take them to get it back.
A witness told investigators that one of the men fired a shot that struck and killed Chaires, the report states. The evidence does not identify which of the men pulled the trigger, and that detail has not been publicly resolved.
Arrests Followed Weeks Apart
Mitchem was arrested on July 11, 2025, with Lucio taken into custody later in connection with the case, according to KOAT. That outlet reported both men were held at the Metropolitan Detention Center on open counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder following their arrests.
A Bernalillo County custody record lists a booking date of July 27, 2025, for Lucio with active holds noted at the time. Judge Joseph Montano had ruled that Lucio would remain behind bars through his trial, the station's report on the case noted, underscoring how long the proceedings have dragged on since the shooting.
Case Still Headed Toward Sentencing
The shift from an open murder charge to a no-contest plea on conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary marks a significant turn in a case that has moved slowly. The evidence does not establish whether the original murder and conspiracy-to-commit-murder charges against Lucio were dismissed, amended or otherwise resolved as part of the new agreement.
What remains clear is that Chaires, who according to court documents had refused to get the motorcycle back after being asked, was killed over what police describe as an argument that escalated into gunfire. Lucio's sentencing date has not yet been made public, and the broader resolution of the case — including any proceedings against his co-defendants — remains pending.
