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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Authorities in Albuquerque have taken into custody a 31-year-old man they allege fatally shot a 19-year-old driver following a road-rage confrontation on San Mateo Boulevard.
Homicide investigators have identified the suspect as Cecilio Lopez in the slaying of Roman Valenciano. Police said Valenciano was en route to pick up his mother from work when the shooting occurred.
Officials reviewed surveillance footage that reportedly shows a silver Ford Mustang execute a U-turn near the intersection of San Mateo Boulevard and Phoenix Road at about 1:45 p.m., cutting across the path of Valenciano’s gray Nissan Sentra.
According to investigators, the Mustang then brake-checked the Sentra and came to a stop in the roadway. Detectives say Lopez pulled up beside the Sentra near 1425 San Mateo Boulevard and opened fire at approximately 1:48 p.m., which coincided with a ShotSpotter alert.
Police obtained a description of the Mustang and later observed a vehicle matching that description return to the vicinity. Using license-plate reader data, they traced the car and determined Lopez was on probation stemming from a prior felony conviction.
Investigators also reviewed information from Lopez’s cellphone that placed him driving on San Mateo at the time of the shooting. Police say he went back to the scene three times before heading to a residence in the North Valley where he had been staying.
Detectives secured search and arrest warrants and took Lopez into custody that evening at the North Valley address, police reported. They added Lopez had his Mustang taken to an undisclosed shop and repainted it black after the deadly encounter.
Lopez faces charges including an open count of murder, tampering with evidence, shooting at or from a motor vehicle resulting in death, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
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