ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A man accused of two murders is going back to jail. The New Mexico Supreme Court granted an appeal filed by the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office to reverse Adrian Avila’s pretrial release.
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Adrian Avila, along with others, are accused of luring a man through social media and kidnapping him last February. APD believes Avila and other suspects, held him at gunpoint–demanding cash, jewelry and a gun. They allegedly drove to his home and when they arrived, his brother, Elias Otero, came out of the house and threatened to shoot the suspects. Police say Avila then shot and killed Otero. Avila has also been charged for shooting and killing a man who was trying to buy a gun from a group he was with at a park near I-40 and Juan Tabo in 2020.
Judge Stan Whitaker ruled in March that Avila should not remain detained pending trial and ordered him on a GPS monitor. Prosecutors appealed that decision and won after it went all the way to the supreme court.
