Teen Who Brutally Killed Law Abiding Citizen at Gas Station Turns Himself In
BY: ABQ RAW Staff
POSTED: 08/02/2023 @ 4:04PM
We do not have access to Barela's mugshot due to him being a minor. Even though he committed an adult felony crime of murder New Mexico state law prevents the release of mugshots of minors.
SW Albuquerque -
According to the Albuquerque Police Department, Marcos Barela turned himself in to police officers today to begin the process of facing charges for Monday’s fatal shooting of a 23 year old woman. The woman confronted him and other teens about her stolen vehicle that he was allegedly inside of at Smith's Gas station near Central and Coors Blvd.
Barela, 13, was booked this afternoon into the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center on an open count of murder, tampering with evidence, and unlawful possession of a handgun by a person.
Officers in the Southwest Area Command responded to reports of a shooting shortly before 9 p.m. on Monday, July 31, 2023, at the Smith’s gas station near Central Ave. and Coors Blvd. S.W. The victim, 23-year-old Sydney Wilson, died at the scene from a gunshot wound.
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Witnesses told officers that Wilson’s white Hyundai was stolen and she was attempting to locate the vehicle with the GPS on her phone. Several teenagers were in the car on Monday evening, which they knew to be stolen from about three days earlier. The teens said they stopped at one point and stole several bottles of alcohol from a Walgreens in Southwest Albuquerque.
Wilson was driving another vehicle and tracked her stolen Hyundai to the area of the gas station. Wilson was on the phone with a friend at the time and said she was going to confront the occupants inside the stolen vehicle.
As Wilson exited the vehicle she was driving, the driver of the white Hyundai drove forward and struck a black Mustang that was in front of her trying to escape. The driver of the Hyundai attempted to flee, but crashed into a curb, resulting in the airbags deploying and disabling the car. Several people, including Marcos Barela who was sitting in the left rear passenger seat, exited the white Hyundai and started to walk away from the crash.
Wilson approached the car making statements about the vehicle. Witnesses said at some point Barela retrieved a firearm from his waistband, pointed the gun at the white vehicle and fired 2-3 shots at it. At least one of those gunshots struck Wilson, killing her.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman is looking to keep Barela in custody.
“We are outraged. The investigation shows an 8th grader with a gun, goes on a joyride with his buddies, then ends up shooting and killing a 23 year-old woman because she asked what they were doing in her stolen car. You bet we’re going to try and keep this teen in custody,” District Attorney Sam Bregman said. “We are also going to look into how a 13 year-old got ahold of the gun used in his horrific crime,” Bregman said.
If police find out that a guardian or parent provided the gun to Barela, they will be charged with the Bennie's Law. It is a law that charges a person who negligently makes a firearm accessible to a minor is guilty of a misdemeanor unless the child causes great bodily harm or death of another person, in which case the firearm owner is guilty of a fourth degree felony.
Detectives investigated the shooting through the night and identified Barela as the shooter. It is unclear from APD if they found a handgun that was the murder weapon. Also, New Mexico juvenile court records are sealed and we do not have a mugshot or criminal complaint to add additional details about the case.