EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A New Mexico man is facing federal charges of kidnapping and carjacking resulting in death in connection with the fatal shooting of a Las Cruces man in the desert of Northeast El Paso on Dec. 3.
Brayden Matthew Alvarado, 22, asked the victim to meet him that night at Burn Lake in Las Cruces, but then pulled out a pellet gun and threatened serious harm unless he turned over the vehicle, according to a criminal complaint filed Dec. 27 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
A federal indictment issued on Wednesday does not identify the victim by name, but prior reports indicate the victim is 44-year-old Abel Tarin, a beloved member of the Las Cruces community and a longtime Sam’s Club employee.
Alvarado allegedly drove Tarin across the Texas state line into El Paso, with the victim in the backseat begging for his life and asking not to be harmed. Alvarado stopped the silver GMC Yukon in a park in Northeast El Paso, then drove into the desert, pulled out a shotgun, and fired at the victim, according to the complaint.
Alvarado allegedly dragged Tarin’s body to the desert and abandoned it next to a thorn bush, court records show.
Tarin’s parents noticed their son did not sleep at home and found out he did not show up to work when the mother attempted to drop off his lunch. Court records show they contacted Las Cruces police and filed a missing persons report.
On Dec. 13, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) contacted the El Paso FBI Field Office after finding the body of a male in the desert near Railroad Drive on land owned by Fort Bliss. CID reported the deceased had trauma to the head.
Court records show the Armed Forces Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on the victim, recovering shotgun pellets and part of the plastic of a shotgun shell in the skull of the victim. The military medical examiner submitted fingerprints of the victim, which led the FBI to identify him.
Once they had that information, federal agents could connect the case to the missing Las Cruces man and his missing vehicle. A witness at Burn Lake told investigators about seeing a male of light complexion and curly hair above his ears sitting in the passenger seat of the Yukon. A search for the SUV revealed a commercial towing company in El Paso had later towed the vehicle.
Court records show El Paso police impounded the vehicle and found blood and a gunshot hole in it. Several fingerprints allegedly matched those of Alvarado, the criminal complaint states.
The FBI found Alvarado in El Paso on Dec. 22, and he agreed to an interview. According to court records, he told agents about setting up a meeting with Tarin to carjack and steal his vehicle.
Alvarado allegedly told agents he used the Yukon to move around until it was “unexpectedly towed.”
A federal grand jury in El Paso on Wednesday charged Alvarado with one count of kidnapping resulting in death and one count of carjacking resulting in death. He was booked into the El Paso County Jail Annex on Dec. 22, where he remained until Jan. 12, when he was transferred to custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. It is unclear where Alvarado is currently being held.
No murder charges have been filed in federal court or New Mexico or Texas related to Tarin’s death.
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