BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) –The Supreme Court affirmed the murder conviction of a suspected cartel hitman.
Jaime Veleta was sentenced to life plus 15 years for shooting and killing Danny Baca in 2008, then burning his body leaving it on the Pajarito Mesa.
He argued the verdict was legally inconsistent because the jury acquitted him on the lesser-included offenses of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.
However, the Justices would not speculate on why the jury acquitted Veleta on those charges, and the evidence was sufficient to convict him of first-degree murder.
