A courtroom brawl erupted in New Mexico as the family of a slain young woman attacked the suspect in her murder during a hearing on Friday.
Alexander Ortiz, 20, is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, 20-year-old Alianna Farfan.
The uncle told police that the murder suspect “killed my niece like a coward.”
According to police, Ortiz shot Farfan at her apartment in the Northeast Heights neighborhood of Albuquerque on Jan. 11, 2024. With assistance from SWAT officers, Ortiz was arrested on Feb. 21, 2024.
Police suspect that Ortiz shot and killed another woman, 25-year-old Nicole Maldonado, outside a food market just six days after the Farfan murder.
The Albuquerque Police Department stated in March, “Following his arrest for the murder of Farfan, detectives executed a search warrant at the residence and located multiple parts of a .40 caliber handgun, including an extended magazine, 50-round drum magazine, Glock 22 .40cal slide, .40cal ammunition, and a mobile phone.”
“Detectives determined several of the firearm parts were similar to those used in the homicide at the Adam Food Market,” the Albuquerque Police Department confirmed.
The Albuquerque Police Department noted that Ortiz was charged with the murder of Farfan. In the death of Maldonado, Ortiz was charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder resulting in death, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and tampering with a witness.
Around 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Ortiz appeared at a procedural hearing related to the murder of Farfan. The family of the alleged murder victim also attended the hearing.
In the middle of the hearing, a man in the gallery suddenly jumped over the barrier and sprinted toward Ortiz. The video of the courtroom attack shows the man tackling Ortiz right in front of the judge’s bench. The assailant was later identified as Farfan’s uncle, Carlos Lucero.
The courtroom video shows a second man entering the fray. The man was identified as 51-year-old Pete Ysasi. Ysasi was Farfan’s stepfather, according to NBC News.
According to the New York Times, Lucero and Ysasi struck a corrections office during the melee.
KOAT-TV reported that Joeray Ortiz, Ortiz’s father, joined the donnybrook to allegedly defend his son. Joeray told deputies that he was trying to “break up the fight,” according to the criminal complaint.
At one point during the fight, women were swinging chairs at the men wrestling on the floor.
The courtroom scrum reportedly lasted for about a minute until Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies broke up the brouhaha and restored order to the courtroom.
Court documents said Ortiz, Lucero, and Joeray Ortiz all suffered “visible lacerations” from the physical altercation. Lucero and Ysasi were both arrested and charged with felonies of battery upon a peace officer and assault on a jail. Lucero was released from the Metropolitan Detention Center on Saturday, and Ysasi was released the day after, according to jail records.
According to the criminal complaint, the uncle told police that the murder suspect “killed my niece like a coward.” Regarding the courtroom assault of the murder suspect, he allegedly said, “It was worth every moment.”
The Albuquerque Journal cited court records showing that Lucero and his wife were granted custody of Farfan’s 1-year-old daughter two months after Farfan’s death.
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Vengeance, Revenge, Vigilante justice, Vigilantism, Court room video, Court room attack, Street justice, Crime