COURTS
Trial begins in 2023 killing of 60-year-old man in his NE Albuquerque apartment
State's key witness is a codefendant now serving a prison sentence in the killing
Prosecutors told jurors Monday that Jarrett Chacon burst into a Northeast Albuquerque apartment armed with a gun in 2023 and fatally injured a 60-year-old man before stealing valuables and fleeing in the victim's vehicle with his girlfriend.
Chacon鈥檚 attorney responded in opening statements that Chacon's girlfriend, Jasmine Trujillo, killed Larry Norsworthy on April 4, 2023, and reached a plea deal with prosecutors in which she agreed to testify against Chacon.
Defense attorney Stephanie Gulley told jurors to remain skeptical of Trujillo's testimony.
"The state already has their killer," Gulley told jurors. "She has pled guilty in this case. She is going to take you for a ride and she is going to want you to believe that my client did this with her."
Chacon, 28, is charged with felony murder, aggravated burglary and other crimes in the killing of Norsworthy, who was found dead in the bathroom of his apartment in the 200 block of Charleston NE, just north of Central.
His trial in 2nd Judicial District Court is expected to continue through Friday before Judge Brett Loveless.
Trujillo, 32, pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder, aggravated burglary and conspiracy and was sentenced in January to 25 years in prison. Her plea agreement requires her to testify in Chacon's trial.
Prosecutor Joseph Brakenhoff said in opening statements that Chacon took up residence in Norsworthy's apartment rent-free after she was evicted from another apartment in the same complex. Chacon ran errands for Norsworthy in his Mercury Mountaineer, he said.
Norsworthy's family became aware of unauthorized financial transactions on his bank accounts and took actions to stop the transactions, Brakenhoff said.
Trujillo is expected to testify that Chacon barged into the apartment one evening and fatally injured Norsworthy, Brakenhoff said.
"What she's going to tell you, and how this case came to be, is that she and Larry (Norsworthy) were in the apartment when the defendant, Mr. Chacon, entered the front door with a mask and a gun," he told jurors. The two men struggled for control of the gun and Norsworthy was fatally injured, he said.
Chacon dragged Norsworthy into the bathroom and went through his pockets, leaving his pockets inside out, Brakenhoff told jurors. Chacon then took clothing, shoes and other items of value from the apartment before he and Trujillo fled in Norsworthy's vehicle, he said.
Norsworthy was alive when Chacon and Trujillo left the apartment, he said.
Norsworthy's family members later tracked down the Mountaineer at another apartment complex and took photos of Chacon exiting the vehicle wearing a pair of white Puma shoes similar to those stolen from Norsworthy's apartment, he said.
An autopsy later found that Norsworthy suffered four broken ribs and soft tissue damage that resulted in his death, he said.
Olivier Uyttebrouck covers the court system. You can reach him at olivier@abqjournal.com.