Jury finds Rey Ruiz guilty in 2023 for Walmart shooting

Caleb A. Gallegos/News-Sun

After brief deliberations Thursday, a Lea County jury found Rey Ochoa Ruiz guilty of second-degree murder and attempted armed robbery in the slaying of 24-year-old Jordan Ruiz.

Rey Ruiz was charged in Fifth Judicial District Court with first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery after Jordan Ruiz was shot in his truck as he left for lunch during his night shift at Walmart in May 2023.

In New Mexico, second-degree murder is punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison and $12,500 in fines. Attempted armed robbery is also a second-degree felony, punishable by a maximum of nine years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

During her opening statement in court Tuesday, Fifth Judicial District Attorney Dianna Luce told jurors that the night Jordan was killed was a “wild night with deadly consequences.”

In her closing statements for the prosecution on Thursday, Megan Kirtley echoed that sentiment.

Kirtley told the jury during closing arguments, as Jordan left work for lunch, that unfortunately he didn’t make it far because his life ended that morning.

Kirtley explained that on the morning of the murder, police had nothing to go on except that Jordan had been killed, so police worked backwards and recovered surveillance footage from the McDonald’s to hopefully help the investigation.

As he reviews McDonald’s footage, a silver KIA driven by a man with a female passenger slowly pulls up to the drive-thru window. Another man was later seen getting out of the back passenger seat of the silver KIA wearing a white shirt and a bandana covering his face and trying to open the window, which is next to a cash register, with his left hand while holding what Kirtley. he said it was a firearm.

After the failed attempt at McDonald’s, Kirtley said Rey and the other occupants of the vehicle followed the Walmart parking lot with plans to steal a vehicle and eventually settled on Jordan’s truck.

Kirtley said that Rey probably had plans to try and catch Jordan before he could get into his truck, but he failed and came up with a different plan, forcing Rey to go to the passenger side where he Jordan was shot.

Kirtley showed the jury autopsy photos showing the three gunshot wounds Jordan suffered during the attempted robbery and reminded the jury of the four-county chase Rey led officers on.

In body camera footage shown to the jury from the officers who first attempted to initiate the stop on the silver KIA, Kirtley said Rey can be seen wearing the same white shirt and red bandana he was wearing in the McDonald’s footage.

A stone’s throw from the wrecked vehicle the two men fled from was a gun of the caliber used to kill Jordan. Kirtley said all evidence collected at the crime scene matched the gun found near the crashed vehicle.

Kirtley then told the jury that Jordan’s life was ended because of a truck and explained the “accessory theory,” saying that it didn’t matter who killed Jordan, that all three occupants were equally guilty.
During closing arguments for the defense, attorney Keren Fenderson explained to the jury how the small-town community loses how Jordan was killed is greeted by the community at large and argued that many citizens are quick to get involved and try to become a hero.

But Fenderson said the law can’t pick someone out and say he’s the one who did it, and argued the state is trying to do that to the defendant.

Fenderson questioned the biased testimony and credibility of witnesses called by the state and said just because a witness believes something doesn’t mean it’s true.

Fenderson said the series of events that took place at the McDonald’s drive-thru was innocent. Insisting the three teenagers didn’t know the restaurant was closed and just wanted food.

Fenderson insisted that just because Rey was wearing a bandana didn’t mean he was going to rob the place, and pointed out that Rey didn’t try to get into the business by any other means.

Fenderson also argued that her client did not pull on the window with any force and argued that the object Rey is seen holding in the McDonalds security footage was not clear enough to determine it was a weapon. She described the object in the video as shiny, while the gun used to kill Jordan was a dull black.

The defense attorney insisted in his closing arguments that a jury’s decision to convict his client could be based on the facts alone, and argued that the state presented little more than conjecture and innuendo, so it failed to meet its burden of proof.

When talking about the footage seen in the Walmart parking lot, Fenderson told the jury there was evidence that Rey tried to rob Jordan for his truck. The video presentation shows Rey walking casually without any weapon in her hand. Still, the attorney argued, there were too many unknowns, and the attorney argued that the video did not show her client exiting a vehicle, which calls into question who else could have been in the area.

Fenderson told the jury that the subject of fingerprints led the state to recall crime scene technology to testify after hearing other testimony, saying fingerprints were recovered but not enough to collect a complete fingerprint, and called the process used by HPD and other agencies to collect evidence. “bad police work”.

Rey Ruiz will be sentenced at a later date.