Dec. 8—A man and his girlfriend have been arrested in connection to the shooting death of a teenage boy at a laundromat Saturday night.
Oscar Orozco, 39, and Jamel Coriz, 39, have been charged with an open count of murder and tampering with evidence, Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said.
Orozco is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center after an early Sunday morning arrest. Coriz was arrested Sunday but had not been booked at MDC as of 8:15 p.m. Sunday, Gallegos said. It is also unclear if either has an attorney.
Police identified the Orozco and Coriz through laundromat surveillance, according to a criminal complaint filed at Metropolitan Court.
Just before 8 p.m. Saturday, APD officers received a call of a fight at a laundromat on the 600 block of San Mateo, near Zuni. As they responded to the scene, a caller told them they heard a gunshot. When officers arrived, a 15-year-old boy was being given aid. The boy died a short time later, according to the complaint.
A witness told police that two girls and a boy argued with a woman — later identified as Coriz — over the use of a washing machine. The argument escalated resulting in the juveniles fighting the woman before everyone left.
Orozco told police “he was smoking at a cemetery with a dead friend” when Coriz called him about the fight. When they met up at their home, Orozco told police her face was messed up and she was missing a chunk of her hair. He told police Coriz tried to leave the laundromat after fighting inside the business when she was pulled out of her vehicle and beaten up , police said.
The witness told police Orozco then was seen at the laundromat, where he chased the boy outside into the parking lot before the witness reported hearing a gunshot. Orozco then got into a vehicle and told Coriz to leave, the complaint states.
Orozco told police after he arrived at the scene, he punched the male teen, who then apologized to Orozco. Police said they showed Orozco surveillance of him chasing the boy in the parking lot before coming up from behind and a gunshot was heard. The boy “staggers before coming to a stop,” the complaint states.
The Office of the Medical Investigator said the boy had been shot in the back, according to police.
“Oscar stated he only confronted and punched the male, but did not kill him,” police said.
In laundromat surveillance, Coriz could be heard telling Orozco “(Expletive) you, (expletive) you, why did you (expletive) make me do this?” Orozco replied, “Let’s go, let’s go” before the two got into their vehicles and drove away, police said.
At about 8:30 a.m. Sunday, police pulled Orozco over during a traffic stop then arrested him on a misdemeanor warrant, according to the complaint.