APD arrests suspects in Monday shooting, October homicide
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023
ALBUQUERQUE – APD detectives arrested two men following an overnight SWAT activation who are accused of shooting a man early Monday, and murdering another man last October.
As detectives watched surveillance video of Monday’s shooting near the Ambassador Inn, located at 1520 Candelaria Rd., N.E., they recognized the shooters as resembling the suspects in a separate investigation from October 2022. Detectives also recovered a distinctive moped in the office of the Ambassador Inn that appears to be the moped used by the men during the October homicide.
Detectives determined the identities of the two men, one of whom worked at the Ambassador Inn, as Casper Rickords, 22, and Melvin Robinson, 33. Detectives tracked Rickords and Robinson to the Extend-a-Suites, located at 2108 Menaul Blvd., N.E. SWAT officers took them into custody and homicide detectives questioned the men about Monday’s shooting and the October homicide.
After questioning, detectives charged Rickords and Robinson for the Oct. 21, 2022, murder of Isaac Torres. They were booked early this morning into the Metro Detention Center on open counts of murder, conspiracy and tampering with evidence.
Rickords and Robinson are accused of fatally shooting Torres shortly before midnight on Oct. 21 outside the Alvarado Transportation Center in Downtown Albuquerque. The men said they attempted to sell Torres a small amount of marijuana. A confrontation ensued over a gun that Robinson had in his possession. Both men shot Torres and one of them took money from Torres after the shooting.
Detectives continue to investigate Monday’s shooting. Surveillance video shows a man, believed to be Robinson, strike the victim with a long pole. The man believed to be Robinson, and a second man, believed to be Rickords, both raise handguns and appear to shoot the victim.
The victim, who has not yet been identified, crawled into the street about three hours after the shooting. A vehicle accidentally ran over the man. He was declared deceased at the scene by rescue personnel.
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