Man arrested after victim shot in head outside West Mesa motel
Christopher Douglas Baca, 33, is accused of firing multiple rounds into a truck and striking Brian Charlie in the head early Friday morning.
Digital Assignment Editor
Police arrested Christopher Douglas Baca, 33, early Friday morning in connection to a shooting outside an Econo Lodge in the West Mesa neighborhood of Albuquerque.
Police responded to a shooting around 3:00 a.m. at the Econo Lodge on Iliff Rd near Coors, arriving to find a male subject, Brian Charlie, who had been shot in the head inside a truck.
According to a witness, Baca had been pacing in the parking lot when Charlie offered him a lighter. Baca was distressed and said he was looking for his sister.
Witnesses said Baca pulled out a gun and fired at the vehicle numerous times, striking Charlie in the head.
Baca was apprehended at a nearby Speedway gas station after the shooting and told officers he had been using drugs for several days and believed he’d fired 15 rounds.
Officers said Baca was incoherent and unable to provide details about his missing sister, but said he believed Charlie had been reaching for a weapon when he decided to shoot at the vehicle.
Baca has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and firing at or from a vehicle and was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Friday following a warrant for his arrest.
Charlie was transferred to a nearby hospital and was in critical condition.
