ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A man who recently pleaded guilty to shooting and killing a man out walking his dog, and then shooting the dog, is in more trouble. He’s now been charged with a murder that took place three months before those killings.
Albuquerque Police Department (APD) said Xavier Marquez is responsible for a deadly shooting at a motel back in June 2021. The criminal complaint details how authorities figured out he was involved.
The First Murder Charge
In a video, Marquez can be seen admitting to the murder of Shawn Lynch. Lynch was out walking his service dog near the fairgrounds back in September 2021 when he was killed.
Police claimed Marquez killed the 33-year-old man because either he didn’t like the way he looked at him or because his dog may have barked at him. Marquez is now looking at up to 17 years for the crime, and the 23-year-old could be looking at a lot more than that.
The Second Murder Charge
APD now claims Marquez was already a murderer at the time of the Shawn Lynch killing.
Police said three months earlier, in June of 2021, Marquez opened fire outside the Travelodge at Coors and Iliff. Daniel Bustos, who was staying at the motel, was killed.
According to the criminal complaint, Marquez was already on the detectives’ radar because of that motel murder. His name was linked to a rental agreement for a room at the Travelodge.
After he was arrested for killing the man walking his dog, detectives asked him about the Travelodge murder, and he claimed Bustos fired first during an argument in the parking lot before he fired back at least a dozen times. However, police said all 14 casings at the scene came from Marquez’s gun, undermining his claim of self-defense.
Marquez is charged with murder and shooting at an occupied building. He’s been in jail since he was arrested for killing Shawn Lynch and his dog.
Marquez does not have a sentencing date yet for that murder, but his plea deal calls for anywhere from 2 to 17 years. However, that will be up to the judge.
