COURTS
Man sentenced to 20 years in 2023 shooting death
Jury convicted Dorian McCuller of second-degree murder in the killing of 44-year-old Richard Cabell outside a Northeast Albuquerque apartment complex
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A man convicted in the 2023 shooting death of 44-year-old Richard Cabell in Albuquerque was sentenced this week to 20 years in prison.
A jury in November convicted Dorian McCuller, 45, of second-degree murder in Cabell鈥檚 killing outside a Northeast Albuquerque apartment complex.
The conviction followed a weeklong trial in 2nd Judicial District Court before Judge Matthew Chavez, who sentenced McCuller on Monday.
Albuquerque police responded around 4 p.m. on June 20, 2023, to a shooting at the Copper Ridge Apartments, near Tramway and Copper NE, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. Officers found Cabell shot to death in a roadway entering the complex.
McCuller showed up at a behavioral health hospital in Texas several days after the killing and said he "may have hurt someone in Albuquerque," according to court records. McCuller told a detective that he and Cabell had fought over a woman and Cabell punched him in the face.
Prosecutors told jurors in closing arguments that McCuller had multiple opportunities to walk away from the confrontation and had ample time to cool off after he was struck in the face.
McCuller鈥檚 attorney, Deidre Ewing, told jurors that McCuller feared for his life and shot Cabell in self-defense after a confrontation between the two men.
Cabell punched McCuller during an argument, causing him to black out, Ewing told jurors. McCuller also had reason to believe Cabell had a gun, she said.
