ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities in New Mexico have filed murder and other charges against the mother of a 10-year-old boy who fatally shot a teenage neighbor in a dispute over loud music.
Elaina Gomez-Villeda, 40, was scheduled to make her first court appearance Monday afternoon on an open count of murder as well as charges including child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, officials said.
Prosecutors are seeking to keep the woman in custody pending trial. They said in a motion that while Gomez-Villeda does not have a substantial criminal record, her behavior showed “an extreme disregard for the lives and safety of others.”
Court records did not immediately list an attorney for the woman. The charges were filed Sunday, a day after the shooting.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing, and the boy has not been charged. Police said they are working with the district attorney’s office and state officials, given the boy’s age.
According to a criminal complaint, police say Gomez-Villeda had knocked on her neighbors’ door Saturday and asked them to turn down their music. The woman told Gomez-Villeda the music wasn’t loud, and Gomez-Villeda walked back to her apartment.
A few minutes later, the woman and her teenage daughter exited their apartment to install a security camera above their front door, as they had recently moved into the apartment, the complaint stated.
It added that the woman told police through an interpreter that Gomez-Villeda began another argument over the music, and that a physical fight ensued, prompting the woman’s daughter to intervene.
Gomez-Villeda allegedly told her son to go inside and get her handgun, the complaint stated. It said the boy returned with the gun and fired one time, killing the teen.
Police said Gomez-Villeda took her son inside their apartment and closed the door. After calling her husband, the complaint said Gomez-Villeda then called 911 to report the incident. She later told detectives that she was attacked by her neighbors after she complained about loud music.
The complaint states that a search of Gomez-Villeda’s apartment turned up other firearms and that the weapons were not secured. Authorities also said a revolver found outside her apartment was listed in a national database as having been stolen.
