ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Two teenage brothers were sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison for their role in a drive-by shooting that killed a 5-year-old Albuquerque girl in 2023, part of a spike in violence at the time that prompted the governor to declare a public health emergency.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham suspended the right to carry guns at public parks and playgrounds in New Mexico’s largest metro area as part of her declaration, but ultimately ended the order a year later.
The state, however, continues to struggle with cases of violence at the hands of juvenile suspects in Albuquerque and elsewhere, with recent shootings and arrests in a deadly hit-and-run leaving communities shaken.
Prosecutors in Bernalillo County announced the sentences for the two brothers and one of the other defendants in social media posts. Two other defendants also were sentenced. All five had reached plea agreements with prosecutors. In statements made in the court, the brothers apologized for the pain they had caused, Albuquerque television station KOB-TV reported. The teens ranged in age from 15 to 19 when the shooting happened just before 6 a.m. on Aug. 13, 2023. The Associated Press is not naming them because they were juveniles at the time.
According to police, Galilea Samaniego was asleep along with her two sisters in a mobile home when the teens entered their community in two stolen vehicles and opened fire. Another teenage boy living in the trailer home was their target, investigators said. They said the teen had a feud since middle school with one of the suspects and that the dispute had escalated.
Police said several gunshots were fired from at least one of the vehicles toward the trailer. The girl was struck in the head and later died at a hospital.
