In the past week, the Albuquerque Police Department has responded to a fatal stabbing, discovered a man and a woman dead inside a home during a welfare check and shot at a man who—it later turned out—shot himself during the encounter.
APD officers also charged six suspects they say are involved in a 2021 homicide.
Homicides
On Jan. 27, APD officers responded to a report of a stabbing at Central and 98th Street. According to an APD press release, the homicide unit determined two men were traveling west in a white Dodge truck on Central Avenue and swerved around two men and a woman who were walking in the middle of the street. The three individuals approached the vehicle and a fight broke out between the two men on foot and the two men who were in the vehicle.
A witness told detectives they saw the attack and tried to fight off the offenders, when the two men who were in the vehicle were stabbed multiple times in the chest. The woman who was with the suspects walked off and never engaged in the altercation. One of the victims who was stabbed, Fred Tapia, 73, died as a result of his wounds.
Detectives are still investigating.
Police shooting
On Feb. 1, APD officers shot at a man who they say pointed a firearm at them as he stood outside of a truck in the parking lot of an apartment complex on McMahon Blvd. just west of Golf Course Rd., NW. The man then got into the truck and an additional shot was heard and the truck accelerated and crashed into a wall. Medical personnel determined the man deceased as a result of the gunshot wound.
The next day, APD identified the man, Matthias Wynkoop, 40, and said he died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The autopsy did not reveal any other bullet wounds. Officers say they were familiar with Wynkoop, who threatened suicide in October 2023, when he was captured outside of Albuquerque by another police agency and they used the Red Flag law to take several firearms from the man.
A handgun and rifle were recovered from the vehicle. APD is investigating how Wynkoop had additional firearms that were involved in the incident.
Suspicious deaths
On Feb. 1, Albuquerque Community Safety responders were dispatched to conduct a welfare check at a home on Constitution Ave. near Eubank Blvd. NE. They found an individual who appeared to be deceased in the home. When APD officers arrived, they entered the home and found an adult woman and man deceased.
Detectives are still investigating.
APD charges six people for 2021 case
On Feb. 3, APD charged six suspects who they say shot at least 200 rounds at a house party inside an apartment, killing Gabriel Garcia, 16, on Aug. 28, 2021. Elton Gastelum, 22, and Dominic Baca, 20, are in federal custody. Santos Veronica, 21, and Francisco Rodriguez, 20, are at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Johnny Lopez, 19, is at the Youth Diagnostic and Development Center and Lawrence Ramirez-Casiquito, 20, is wanted on a warrant.
Detectives say the suspects intended to shoot someone else at the party near Copper Ave. and Wyoming Blvd. NE, but text messages revealed they shot the wrong person and referred to the murder as a “team kill.” Ramirez turned himself in and all other suspects are in custody except for Ramirez-Casiquito, who has a warrant.
Detectives worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and tracked the bullet casings to guns used in other large shootings that occurred around the same time.
Golden Pride Update
On Jan. 26, homicide detectives arrested Ethan Sheppard for stabbing and his coworker, Justin Husted, at the Golden Pride at 1830 Lomas Blvd. NE. Golden Pride released a statement on Jan. 31 that said the restaurant is closed and they will be offering counseling services to employees.
This story has been updated to provide the correct name for one of the six suspects who was arrested. Incorrect information had previously been provided by APD.