NEWS
Man accused of three shootings in one week
Suspect arrested after city bus driver recognized him from wanted flyer
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Albuquerque police on Saturday arrested a man accused in three shootings over the past week after he was recognized by a city bus driver.
Juan Maestas, 36, is charged with an open count of murder and tampering with evidence in the Downtown shooting death of Tavis Kimbrough, 43, on Friday. He has been booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said Maestas is also suspected in the Sept. 2 shooting that injured a man who was driving with his young daughter in the northeast part of the city. Overnight, he said, Maestas also shot at a Presbyterian Hospital security guard. Charges in those incidents are being filed, Gallegos said.
Gallegos said the crime spree came to an end Saturday morning, when a city bus driver called 911 to report Maestas was on his bus 鈥渁nd trying to hide his identity.鈥�
鈥淭he driver said there were photos of the suspect on the bus,鈥� he said.
He said officers approached Maestas at the Alvarado Transportation Center and he ran toward a neighborhood with a gun in his hand. Gallegos said police shot Maestas with a less-lethal 40 mm round and took him into custody.
鈥淚 appreciate the great teamwork to make this arrest,鈥� APD Chief Cecily Barker said in a news release. 鈥淲hile we often highlight the role of technology, we still need to rely heavily on witnesses and alert citizens who can make the difference in solving cases.鈥�
According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, officers responded around 2:30 p.m. Friday to a shooting at a bus stop near Second and Marquette NW. Officers found Kimbrough with gunshot wounds, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Surveillance video from the area showed a man approach and get into an altercation with Kimbrough before he fell to the ground and the shooter ran away, the complaint states. A witness in the area told police the suspect said 鈥渢hat鈥檚 what you get when you (expletive) with me鈥� after shooting Kimbrough.
Police said during the investigation, detectives learned the suspect matched the description of the suspect in a Sept. 2 shooting at a gas station near Montgomery and Carlisle NE. In that incident, Gallegos said, a man was driving with his daughter after getting gas when he noticed a man nearby.
鈥淗e then heard six to eight gunshots and his rear window shattered,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he victim realized he was shot in the left arm and drove to the hospital.鈥�
The complaint states detectives used facial recognition software to identify Maestas as the suspect in both shootings.
Maestas鈥� criminal history dates back to 2012. In 2016, he was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to battery of a police officer. More recently, in 2024, he was charged in a gas station robbery, but that case was dismissed because 鈥渘ecessary witnesses鈥� were not available to testify.
