CRIME
Man accused of gunning down man northeast of Downtown in 2019
APD: Suspect allegedly told a friend, ‘I’m sorry you had to see me like that last night bruh’
A man was arrested on Thursday after allegedly shooting a man to death at an apartment near Martineztown seven years ago.
Jonas Allegro-Turner, 28, of Albuquerque was charged with an open count of murder in the 2019 shooting death of 26-year-old Devon Bartlett, according to court records. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
His detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, according to court records.
Police were able to identify Allegro-Turner through his driver’s license and social media photos, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. Allegro-Turner was questioned around the time of the shooting. He was arrested last week after the case was assigned to a different investigator in February.
His family declined to comment.
The 2019 incident is connected to the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Calvin Kelly in Northeast Albuquerque that occurred less than 12 hours earlier, according to police.
In that case, Adam Cazares, 37, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2023 while co-defendant Jassiah Montoya, 22, who was 15 at the time, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2021 and was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the Journal previously reported.
Allegro-Turner was a close friend of Kelly and believed that Bartlett was involved in Kelly’s murder, prosecutors wrote in a motion to detain Allegro-Turner.
‘I’m sorry you had to see me like that’
At about 4 p.m. July 10, 2019, the Albuquerque Police Department responded to calls of gunshots at the Sun Village (now Union 505) Apartments in the 800 block of Locust Place NE, near the Big I.
Witnesses told police Bartlett had been shot and they saw multiple people leave the area in a Mercedes-Benz SUV, police said.
When officers arrived, Bartlett was dead, the complaint states.
Police said Bartlett’s friend told officers after hearing a door knock, Bartlett went out and, shortly after, she heard gunshots before seeing two men get into a Mercedes-Benz SUV that police later identified as belonging to Allegro-Turner.
Police later said Allegro-Turner had texted a man a few hours after Kelly’s murder, saying he was “On my Way!” to an apartment Bartlett was in. Phone data tracked Allegro-Turner to the area of the apartment between 3:53 p.m. and 3:59 p.m., moments before the shooting, the complaint states.
The next morning, Allegro-Turner texted Kelly’s brother saying, in part, “I’m sorry you had to see me like that last night bruh,“ police said.
“Based on this statement, it can be inferred that he and (Kelly’s brother) did see one another in person and that Jonas seemingly had some regret or guilt about whatever occurred,” according to the complaint.
Police said Bartlett had called a friend and "indicated" he had killed Kelly. However, detectives wrote in Cazares’ complaint, “it appeared that Devon did not in fact murder Calvin Kelly and did not have opportunity to do so.”
Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.