A court sentenced Dorian McCuller, 42, previously charged with murdering 44-year-old Richard Cabell at the Copper Ridge Apartments on June 2023, to 20 years in prison.
Albuquerque Police Department said a behavioral health hospital in Texas called police about a patient who told staff he may have hurt someone in Albuquerque.
McCuller and Cabell are arguing over Cabell’s girlfriend at Copper Ridge Apartment and when things escalated, McCuller shot Cabell twice before he fled the scene.
McCuller thought Cabell had a gun, but APD did not find a gun on Cabell’s body. He also said he did not remember driving to Texas, did not know where his car was, and probably threw the gun out during the drive.
Police charged him with murder and tampering of evidence and detained him in Texas.
On November 2023, a jury found McCuller guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement. Authorities later arrested McCuller in Texas and then extradited him to New Mexico to face charges.
Judge Matthew Chavez announced the verdict today.