Witness says the fatal shooting over the weekend went wrong due to an arms deal

Nov. 12 – A fatal shooting on the city’s South Side last weekend was the result of a gun deal gone wrong, a witness told Santa Fe police in recently filed court documents.

Police arrested 24-year-old Antonio Montejano in Española on Monday night and charged him with an open count of first-degree murder in the killing of 44-year-old Rosendo Romero.

A witness said Romero was shot and killed after Montejano discovered the victim’s plan to extort money from him in an alleged gun deal, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed Monday in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court.

Romero had already taken Montejano’s money for an “AR rifle” he promised him, the witness told police, but Romero planned to keep Montejano’s money without turning over the gun.

The witness said that while the two men and several others were “doing drugs on the couch” late Saturday night in a mobile home on the Camino Tierra Real, Romero conspired to have someone break the rear window of his own pickup and steal the car. to delete. gun to make it appear as if it had been stolen from his vehicle, police wrote.

However, when Romero told Montejano about the alleged theft, Montejano seemed “very angry,” as if he knew Romero was lying to him, the witness told officers. The two were talking inside, and Romero walked out of the mobile home and told Montejano he would drive someone home and then return, they said.

Montejano walked out of the house with a gun and shot Romero as he walked to his truck, the witness’ statement said. The witness told police that Romero then ran toward the entrance of the mobile home park, but he was struck by Montejano’s gunfire and fell to the ground.

Police wrote that the witness confirmed Montejano’s photo in a photo series.

According to the affidavit, city police have investigated Montejano in the past for suspected drug trafficking. An officer wrote that he set up “controlled purchases” of illegal drugs from Montejano in 2023 as part of a broader narcotics investigation.

A Facebook profile named “Trigga Happi,” which appears to belong to Montejano, promoted the sale of cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamines, fentanyl and heroin in group chats Friday, police wrote.

The account has posted photos of Montejano in recent years, including some of him holding a gun. The account indicates that Montejano attended Santa Fe High School and “works at GLOCK.”

A photo posted by the account in recent months shows Montejano holding two large, clear bags of what appear to be mushrooms, with the caption “place your orders” along with an arrow pointing to a phone emoji. Another photo, posted on April 12, shows a bouquet of dahlias and roses sitting in front of a photo of the late Raul René Montejano Jr. with the caption “I love you brother.”

Montejano is the brother of Raul Montejano, Jr., a man who was shot and killed in June 2023 during a dispute on the city’s South Side.

Police arrested Montejano Monday evening at a Days Inn motel in Española, where his girlfriend Nikki Marie Jo Mascareñas’ car was parked in the parking lot.

Mascareñas was reported missing by her parents on Sunday. Police said in a news release that she was found “safe and unharmed” and that there was no evidence she had been taken against her will.

The city’s most recent fatal shooting before Romero’s — a double homicide in October on Siringo Road — also occurred during an alleged gun deal, according to statements the suspect in the incident made to police.

Romero’s killing was one of three shootings in Santa Fe this weekend.

A shooting Saturday evening at Vista Linda Apartments that left a man injured appeared to stem from an argument between residents of the apartment complex. Michael Te’shawn Thomas, 23, told officers he shot another man in the abdomen after the man punched his girlfriend in the face, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed against him.

Thomas, his girlfriend and the man told officers they started arguing outside the complex, although neither of them said what the argument was about, police wrote. The alleged victim told police he punched the woman after she chased and punched him, the affidavit said.

Police wrote that officers recovered the gun from Thomas’ apartment and discovered it had been reported stolen.

Thomas was arrested late Saturday and booked into the Santa Fe County Jail. He is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and possession of a stolen firearm, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in County Magistrate Court.

A shooting on Sunday evening also wounded a man who told police he had been carjacked by another man, police said. The man told officers he had been shot and left in a field off West Alameda Street.

Santa Fe police had not identified any suspects in the incident and no charges had been filed as of Tuesday.