ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s a murder that the District Attorney says could have been entirely prevented. Devin Munford, 18, has already racked up a violent list of charges is now accused of murder. The murder also happened while Munford was out on bond and wearing a GPS monitor.
The District Attorney tried to keep the 18-year-old locked up until trial after he was arrested for shooting from a motor vehicle in December of 2020. However, the judge let Munford out and now he’s facing charges for a string of violent crimes over the weekend. “He not only was engaged and committed the murder… but there was also a subsequent aggravated assault and armed robbery. This is the type of violent, dangerous individual that we move repeatedly to try and get off the streets of the community so we’re very disappointed that the system failed,” said District Attorney Raul Torrez.
In December, District Court Judge Clara Moran agreed with prosecutors that Munford was a danger but ruled certain conditions of release could keep the community safe. She let Munford out on the strictest condition, an ankle monitor.
Munford was ordered to only leave his house for work, school or medical appointments. However, the Albuquerque Police Department and the District Attorney say that did not happen.
On Friday, April 23, 2021, Munford is accused of shooting and killing 22-year-old Devon Heyborne. APD says the two were cellmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center and had an ongoing dispute related to drugs.
Witnesses told investigators as soon as Heyborne answered his apartment door, Munford started shooting. Heyborne died on the scene.
Less than two days after the murder, Munford is accused of pointing a shotgun at the clerk of a 7-Eleven on San Mateo and Kathryn. All the while, he was wearing his court mandated ankle monitor.
Investigators say that ended up putting him at the scenes of both crimes. Torrez argues this the perfect case to highlight why pre-trial detention needs to be overhauled.
However, on Tuesday, the Public Defender’s Office defended the judge’s December decision. “He didn’t have a long criminal history. Nobody was hurt in that initial allegation and he was not a repeat offender at that point when the court heard the information regarding the detention and even a wise prosecutor can’t predict the future. There will always be some danger when anybody’s making these decisions,” said Second Judicial District Defender Jennifer Barela.
Barela says the amount of people who re-offend while out on bond is small. Torrez says his office is now requesting an investigation into why no one sounded the alarm when Munford repeatedly left his home. Torrez is also requesting all of Munford’s data from the time he was out because he believes it could connect him to even more crimes.
