APD arrests juveniles for July murder

ALBUQUERQUE – APD Detectives arrested two teens overnight for the July 4, 2023, murder of Alana Gamboa during a drug robbery in Southeast Albuquerque.

APD Homicide detectives obtained an arrest warrant on Thursday for a 14-year-old suspect. He was tracked on Thursday and arrested by detectives with APD’s Investigative Support Unit at an apartment complex on Girard Blvd., S.E. During the arrest, detectives also detained a 15-year-old suspect, who was also questioned about the murder. He gave inconsistent statements, but he admitted to shooting Gamboa during the robbery.

Homicide detectives determined through investigation that the 14-year-old suspect arranged to purchase mushrooms and marijuana cartridge vaporizer pens from Gamboa. But witnesses said the juvenile was setting Gamboa up to rob her.

Gamboa and the 14-year-old suspect were communicating through social media and agreed to meet in the area of Columbia Dr. and Kathryn Dr., S.E. When Gamboa arrived, around 12:35 a.m., she was shot as she sat in the driver’s seat of her car and reportedly reached for a gun. Gamboa died as a result of a gunshot that went through her arm and struck her heart and lungs.

Detectives pieced together the details of the murder based on social media conversations, information from witnesses and surveillance video. Once the 14-year-old suspect was identified, detectives learned he was on supervised probation with the juvenile probation office. They obtained a search warrant for his phone number and determined his phone was at the scene when Gamboa was shot.

The juvenile suspects were booked overnight into the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center. The investigation is ongoing.

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