Albuquerque police have charged Jonah Jeter, 33, in the August killing of his tenant, Robert Debeary, 52. Investigators say Debeary was shot and buried in the yard of a Northeast Albuquerque home he rented.
Homicide detectives allege the shooting happened on Aug. 12 at a residence on the 200 block of Alcazar Street NE, according to Telemundo Nuevo México. Jeter is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center on an open count of murder, three counts of tampering with evidence and aggravated burglary. Those are allegations; the case has not been resolved in court.
From a Missing-Person Report to Homicide
Debeary's family last heard from him on Aug. 11 and reported him missing later that month. An anonymous call then named Jeter as a possible person responsible for the disappearance, and homicide detectives took over the case.
The shift mattered. What began as a search for a missing 52-year-old tenant became a homicide investigation aimed at the man who rented him the Alcazar Street residence.
October Searches and a Shallow Grave
In October, investigators obtained search warrants for Jeter's home and car in Northeast Albuquerque and searched the Alcazar Street property he rented to tenants, including Debeary. Stolen firearms were found in the car, and Jeter was first arrested on a charge of possessing stolen firearms.
On Oct. 27, detectives found human remains about two feet underground in a small area of that yard. An autopsy identified the remains as Debeary's and determined he died from a gunshot wound to the head.
What the Complaint Says the Family Saw
A criminal complaint says Jeter told Debeary's family that Debeary had been evicted for not paying rent, ABQ RAW reported. The complaint also says family members noticed a reddish-brown stain on the apartment floor that looked like blood.
Those details come from the charging document, not from an independent finding about rent, an eviction or what the stain was.
The Charges, and an Earlier Federal Case
The murder, evidence-tampering and aggravated-burglary counts are the current Albuquerque case. They are separate from a 2018 federal prosecution in which, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Jeter pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
That earlier plea does not decide the allegations now before a state court. Jeter remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center while the open murder count and the related charges proceed.
