Dec. 19—The first video shows the man walking casually down Iron SW under several layers of clothing. In the second video, he heads back the way he came, the jacket he had been wearing now wrapped around his hand.
Authorities say underneath the jacket was a pistol used for gunning down John “Bale” Sisneros inside his shop, Por Vida Tattoo.
The Nov. 14 killing of the 41-year-old, a well-known businessman who spoke openly about leaving behind gang violence and drug trafficking, is one of more than two dozen unsolved Albuquerque homicides from this year.
The FBI on Thursday released previously unseen video of the suspect and offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information “leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons involved in this crime.”
Albuquerque police responded around 8:30 a.m. to the shooting at the shop at 500 Fourth SW, near Coal. Arriving officers found Sisneros shot to death.
“Sisneros was shot multiple times by an unknown male suspect who was wearing a face covering, a glove over his left hand, and a jacket wrapped around his right hand in which he held the gun,” according to the FBI release.
Within hours of the shooting, Albuquerque Metro Crime Stoppers released a still shot from video of the suspect walking down the street.
Many of Sisneros’ family and friends took to social media in the past month to share the photo and ask for help identifying the person.
One relative of Sisneros posted to Facebook offering $100,000 “to anyone that brings me the person” who killed Sisneros.
“I swear I will pay till I get them and I will not stop looking,” the post read.
Sisneros originally opened a tattoo shop in Rio Rancho in 2006 and eventually moved to the Downtown area, expanding the business to include a tattoo supply store and coffee shop.
Sisneros did not shy away from his past, which he said included running with a gang and selling drugs in the South Valley.
“We grew up a certain way,” Sisneros said in a 2022 interview with K9 Multimedia. From a young age, he said, he was “born to be a hustler” and would offer to wash the neighbor’s car.
“As I got older, I was influenced by the wrong people, I got into selling crack and all that… but ultimately it was God’s plan that brought me here,” Sisneros said.
In the interview, during which Sisneros walked down a lively Central Avenue, he said the meaning of his shop’s name, “Por Vida,” had changed since then.
“In English it’s ‘for life,’ and when I first started the shop, it meant something else, because we were bound to something that was for life, dog, and I was just into it that much,” Sisneros said. “And I still am, but in a different way, a more positive way, and it’s the same dog — I’m dedicated for life.”
The FBI said anyone with information should call 505-889-1300 or 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov.