Suspect in 7-Eleven murder captured

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The manhunt for 22-year old Eloy Aguilar, named by police as the gunman who murdered a 7-Eleven clerk early Tuesday morning, ended with his capture late Wednesday afternoon.

Aguilar was arrested at his apartment in the 3100 block of Comanche Road NE.

Police later reported officers from the Repeat Offender Program located Aguilar and by early evening was being interviewed by homicide detectives. He is now booked into jail.

A police spokesman credited ROP's surveillance and apprehension techniques and the around-the-clock work of homicide detectives for the arrest.

According to criminal complaints released overnight, two men were with Aguilar just before the murder: Julian Deherrera, 20, and Dylan Villarreal, 22. The three men pulled into a 7-Eleven at Central Avenue SE and University Boulevard across from the University of New Mexico.

Detectives say Deherrera held up a group of people sitting in a van outside the 7-Eleven at gunpoint robbing them of their phones. That caught the eye of the two clerks inside, one of whom started calling 911 and went outside with two customers.

Meanwhile, according to a criminal complaint, Aguilar headed inside to rob the store and confronted employee Chad Mercer, 36.

It's unclear what words if any were exchanged between the two, but shortly after police say Aguilar shot and killed Mercer.

According to APD spokesperson Tasia Martinez, the incident was caught on surveillance tape. Martinez says Aguilar was apparently not wearing a mask or attempting to hide his face.

That is when Deherrera and Villarreal took off in a car, leaving Aguilar behind.

Police say it was through a tracking devices in one of the stolen cell phones that they were able to locate Deherrera and later Villarreal.

At this point, Aguilar, Villarreal and Deherrera are facing murder and armed robbery charges.

Meanwhile, News 13 has learned Mercer was the father of three young children. According to his Facebook page, Mercer is also an Army veteran and is originally from Sutherlin, Ore.

A spokesperson for the convenience store told News 13 the company will do whatever it can to help Mercer's family in the wake of the murder.