CRIME
Second man arrested in 2019 'retaliatory' shooting death
Joseph Plakio, 49, faces murder and conspiracy charges in the shooting death of Devon Bartlett at an Albuquerque apartment complex.
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A second man has been arrested after allegedly shooting a man to death at an apartment complex in Southeast Albuquerque in 2019 in what police called a 鈥渞etaliatory鈥� shooting.
Joseph Plakio, 49, is charged with an open count of murder and conspiracy to commit a felony in the July 10, 2019, shooting death of 26-year-old Devon Bartlett.
Plakio was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Monday. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
鈥淒efendant has willingly participated and was involved in the planning, coordinating and execution of a retaliatory murder of Bartlett," states a pretrial detention motion filed by prosecutors. 鈥淒efendant has been dishonest with law enforcement and so the court should not trust him to comply with conditions of release.鈥�
笔濒补办颈辞鈥檚 alleged accomplice, 28-year-old Jonas Allegro-Turner, was arrested on July 20.
Police interviewed Plakio after the shooting and he 鈥渄enied repeatedly having any knowledge鈥� of the shooting, but said he might have been at the apartment complex, according to the complaint. A new investigator was assigned to the 7-year-old shooting in late February.
Officers used surveillance footage, license plate readers and phone records to identify Plakio, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
笔濒补办颈辞鈥檚 phone location data showed that he was at the Sun Village (now Union 505) Apartments in the 800 block of Locust Place NE at the time of Bartlett鈥檚 death, the complaint states. Surveillance cameras captured him at the apartment complex that afternoon.
Witnesses to the shooting described 笔濒补办颈辞鈥檚 appearance and picked him out during a photo lineup, according to the complaint.
Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.
