A 22-year-old man barricaded himself inside a southeast Albuquerque residence before U.S. Marshals took him into custody on Thursday, Oct. 15, making him the seventh person arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of Dominic Hernandez outside a smoke shop in the city's International District. Hezekiah Beltran now faces an open count of murder along with a string of related charges tied to the July 20 killing.
Beltran was located near Mesilla Street SE and Trumbull Avenue, according to KOAT, which reported that he barricaded himself inside the residence and refused to follow lawful commands before he was safely taken into custody. He was then booked into the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center, the station reported. KOAT reported the arrest before the Los Alamos Daily Post, which reported that the arrest capped a search led by the U.S. Marshals Service Southwest Investigative Fugitive Taskforce.
The taskforce worked alongside the Albuquerque Police Department and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office to track Beltran down, according to abqjournal.com. A warrant for his arrest had been issued on July 29, just over a week after Hernandez was killed, the outlet reported. Beltran is charged with conspiracy to commit an open count of murder, attempt to commit a felony — to wit, robbery — kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and tampering with evidence, per the same report.
Seventh Arrest Caps a Months-Long Manhunt
Beltran becomes the seventh person arrested since the investigation into Hernandez's death began, according to abqjournal.com's reporting. Six alleged co-conspirators — Daniel Tadege, Tinh Nguyen, Jose Valenzuela-Ruiz, Brandon Davis, Luis Ornelas and Charles Richards — had been arrested by Aug. 10, the outlet noted. By Aug. 10, the paper's earlier coverage had already tallied six men in custody tied to the case.
One of those six, Luis Ornelas, was arrested Aug. 9 after an officer reportedly saw him trespassing on private property and discovered he had an outstanding warrant, abqjournal.com reported at the time. KRQE reported that Ornelas faced the same slate of charges now filed against Beltran: murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
What Investigators Say Happened at the Smoke Shop
Hernandez was killed July 20 outside the Smoke City Smoke Shop on Central Avenue SE in Albuquerque's International District. Earlier abqjournal.com reporting described allegations that a group forced Hernandez out of the smoke shop as he attempted to hide from them, though the full sequence of events inside and around the business has been attributed to police accounts rather than established as settled fact.
Federal marshals, Albuquerque police and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office were involved in tracking down Beltran. His arrest marks the most recent development in a case that has stretched from late July into mid-October.
As with the six men arrested before him, the charges against Beltran remain allegations at this stage of the case.
