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The Twelfth Judicial District Attorney, Scot D. Key, announced on October 12, 2023, an Otero County Jury found Angel Armendariz guilty of two (2) counts of 1st degree murder (felony murder) after a seven-day jury trial before the Honorable Angie K. Schneider.
The jury deliberated for approximately six hours before delivering their guilty verdicts.
This was considered a cold case and stood relatively untouched for several years until the Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office Investigation unit and the Alamogordo Police Department detective division assigned two full time investigators to the case to review all materials and previously seized evidence.
On November 2, 2014, at approximately 11:42 P.M., Alamogordo Police Department Officers were dispatched to the 1000 block of Hendrix Ave., Alamogordo, New Mexico, in reference to a stationary suspicious vehicle. Officers observed the front passenger door open and located (2) male subjects in the front seats of the vehicle with gunshot wounds. The occupants inside the vehicle were identified as Jonathan Garnand and Devone Blake. Both victims were still alive and pleading to Officers for aid.
Both victims were transported to Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center (GCRMC) with life threatening injuries. Subsequently, both individuals were air lifted to the University Medical Center (UMC) located in El Paso, Texas. After lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful, both Garnand and Blake succumbed to their injuries. Jonathan Garnand was pronounced deceased on November 4, 2014, and Devone Blake was pronounced deceased on November 10, 2014.
The Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office Cold Case Unit, in addition to the Alamogordo Police Department, began actively working this cold case again in March of 2020. Consistent case reviews also occurred over the years, but none resulted in solidified leads. Ultimately, it was learned through the investigation that Johnathan Stewart and Angel Armendariz had met with Jonathan Garnand and Devone Blake, prior to, and at the time of the shooting. Cellular phone and GPS data was eventually recovered, ultimately leading law enforcement to execute the arrests.
This case was prosecuted by 12th Judicial District Attorney Scot D. Key and Chief Deputy District Attorney Roxeanne Esquibel and investigated by the Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office Cold Case Unit, the Attorney General’s Office, Alamogordo Police Department, New Mexico State Police, McKinney Police Department, Texas Rangers, Bell County Sheriff’s Office, College Station Police Department, El Paso Police Department, Milam County Sheriff’s Office, Altus Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
D.A. Scot Key commented on the case by saying: “The only way this case concluded in a successful prosecution was the dogged determination of Special Agent Kyle Graham and then APD Detective William Lewandowski in building a strong case”. Special thanks should be given to APD, then Chief, Richard Denton for recognizing that a commitment of time and resources to the investigation was the only way the case could be solved and prosecuted. Special recognition should also be given to the entire Detective division of APD and the victim advocates of the District Attorney’s Office for their years long work with the victims’ families.
Sentencing for Armendariz will take place in the near future.
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