Another teenager was arrested Wednesday on murder and other charges in connection with a deliberate hit-and-run that targeted a bicyclist, Albuquerque police said.
Detectives learned that the boy was the fourth suspect in the stolen car when it hit and killed 63-year-old physicist Scott Dwight Habermehl while he was biking to his job at Sandia National Laboratories.
The teen arrested Wednesday was 15 at the time of the May 2024 crash.
The others included a boy who had just turned 11 and two other teens.
Video of the crash was recorded from inside the car and circulated on social media.
It was reported to authorities earlier this year by people including a middle school principal after a student flagged it.
Authorities said that during the course of the investigation, several people told detectives they recognized the sound of the fourth suspect’s voice when the video was posted on social media.
The teen had denied being the car during an earlier interview with police, but detectives learned that he had shared details about the crash and the police investigation with friends through social media conversations.
The Associated Press doesn’t typically name people under 18 accused of a crime.
The case was among those highlighted by Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as well as Republican lawmakers and prosecutors as they pleaded with the Democratic-led Legislature to address juvenile crime across the state.
Although vowing to do so, the governor has yet to call a special session to bring lawmakers back to consider new legislation.
