Affidavits: Teen killed near Storrie Lake mistaken for rival drug dealer
Sixteen-year-old Adelina Tafoya was killed by a gunshot to the head July 6 because she and her teen passengers were mistaken for drug dealers, according to affidavits filed in San Miguel Magistrate Court.
Nico L. Barela, 30, was arrested Friday by New Mexico State Police and charged with an open count of murder in the first degree, and multiple other charges. Barela was convicted of homicide by vehicle in September 2009 for the death of a passenger on a motorcycle during a crash in 2008.
Police are looking for Roger A. Tait-Gomez, 29, who also faces an open count of murder in Tafoya’s death.
Tafoya was driving a vehicle on Seventh Street July 6 toward Storrie Lake with five passengers — ranging in age from 14 to 17 — when a silver SUV began following them. Tafoya turned into several residential areas in an attempt to lose the people following them, but the SUV stuck with them, following them to the entrance of Storrie Lake. The teens exited the vehicle to see what the problem was, and the men in the SUV opened fire.
Tafoya was shot in the head and died soon after. Another 16-year-old girl was shot in the back of her head and is still in the hospital. And a 15-year-old boy was shot in the arm. Three other teens, ages 14, 15 and 17, were not injured.
Using security camera footage from businesses and homes, State Police investigators were able to identify the SUV, which led them to Barela and Tait-Gomez. The silver Nissan Pathfinder registered to Tait-Gomez was located at the Monte Vista apartments on Mountain View Drive. An employee of the apartments told police they’d seen a man drop the SUV off and take some items from it before being picked up by someone in a car. The employee told police Tait-Gomez often visited an apartment in the complex. Investigations interviewed those at the apartments and were given names of several people possibly involved in the shooting.
Those interviewed by investigators said that on July 6, a drug dealer named James Kent Muse was robbed at gunpoint, according to affidavits. The alleged robber took $1,000 and six grams of heroin worth $300, and Muse called Tait-Gomez. According to affidavits, Tait-Gomez “was underneath” Muse in their drug dealing business and “would do anything to impress” Muse.
Muse admitted to police he’d been robbed of the cash and heroin, according to affidavits, but said he didn’t have anything to do with the shooting at Storrie Lake. He said that after the robbery, Barela and Tait-Gomez got into Tait-Gomez’s SUV and went looking for the person who’d “jacked” Muse. They started following the vehicle driven by Tafoya, and when the teens stepped out of the car, both Barela and Tait-Gomez fired at them, according to the affidavits.
The next day, Muse, Barela and Tait-Gomez learned from a news article posted on Facebook that they hadn’t shot rival drug dealers, but instead two teen girls and a teen boy. According to affidavits, Muse was “emotional” and said it should not have happened.
Barela was interviewed by police following his arrest and admitted he’d been with Tait-Gomez the night of the shooting. He told police Tait-Gomez had two firearms, and that they started following a car they believed was driven by the person who robbed Muse.
Muse has felony convictions for burglary and motor vehicle theft, and is currently awaiting trial on charges of trafficking controlled substances after being arrested in March for possession of methamphetamine. His jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 2, 2021.
Barela was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center on Friday and remained there as of this writing. Barela is charged with an open count of murder in the first degree, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, shooting at or from a motor vehicle, two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Tait-Gomez is sought on an open count of murder in the first degree and other charges. State Police ask that anyone with information about him call 505-425-6771 option 1.
