Dec. 8—An Albuquerque man was recently arrested and accused in a fatal shooting a man following an argument at a nightclub last year.
Bryan Perello, 24, is charged with an open count of murder and conspiracy in the May 2023 shooting death of Adam Duarte, 33.
Perello was arrested on a warrant on Friday, according to court records. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center. His attorney could not be reached for comment. A detention hearing has been scheduled for Monday, according to court records. Prosecutors have filed a motion to detain Perello until trial.
Meanwhile, a second suspect has been linked to the shooting. Ballistics testing identified two firearms were used , according to a criminal complaint filed at Metropolitan Court. However, the second person’s whereabouts is unclear, as is the motive of the shooting.
The case ran cold until this past May, when detectives saw photos of shoe prints near Duarte’s house that were later linked to Perello, detectives said.
At about 5 a.m. on May 24, 2023, the Albuquerque Police Department received a call of a shooting in the 2400 block of Mountain, near Stanford and Marble.
A woman told detectives she saw two people standing outside a guest house where her son — later identified as Duarte — lived. When she asked Duarte on the phone why he had friends over, she told detectives she heard “approximately 10 gunshots and knew Adam was shot,” the complaint states.
Duarte’s friend said when Duarte opened the door, he was “shot immediately” before Duarte said “what the (expletive)” and stumbled backwards. The friend then heard “more than 4 or 5” shots, she told detectives.
When APD arrived, officers found Duarte on the floor in a puddle of blood. He was taken to a local hospital where he died, the complaint states.
Cameras from nearby homes showed a black pickup fleeing east on Mountain Road after the shooting, detectives said.
Another friend of Duarte told detectives that earlier that night, Duarte “exchanged words” with Perello and Perello’s friend at Fantasy World, an adult entertainment club, “over unknown reasons.” Duarte’s friend later told detectives Perello’s friend reportedly owed Duarte “a lot of money” over a “kilo of dope,” the complaint states.
Perello and his friend were seen leaving Fantasy World in the same pickup that would flee from Duarte’s house hours later, detectives said.
Ballistics testing showed that two firearms were used during the shooting, which is “consistent with the statement from the victim’s mother that two people were observed at the door to Adam’s casita. … Additionally, trajectory of the projectiles also appear consistent with there being two shooters during this incident,” according to the complaint.