In an Albuquerque shopping center parking lot, the life of 40-year-old Hispanic male Matthew Sedillo ended abruptly on the afternoon of May 28, 2025. The fatal encounter began after Sedillo allegedly shoplifted merchandise, including two T-shirts and a glass bong, from Moe's Smoke Shop located near Lomas and San Mateo Boulevards. The owner of the shop, identified as 35-year-old Mohtasem Mahir Thabata, pursued Sedillo into the parking lot.
The confrontation escalated quickly as Sedillo
got into a white vehicle that had a female passenger. Thabata, armed with a handgun, reportedly grabbed onto the driver's side door as Sedillo began to reverse. After being knocked to the ground and allegedly dragged by the car, Thabata retrieved his dropped weapon and fired at the fleeing vehicle, intending to hit the tires. Instead, the bullet struck Sedillo. A witness in the car with Sedillo stated she ducked down after seeing the gun and that after a gunshot, Sedillo slumped over the wheel.
Following the shooting, Sedillo's foot pressed down on the accelerator, causing the car to speed through the parking lot. The vehicle crashed and subsequently caught fire. When authorities arrived, they found Matthew Sedillo deceased in the burned-out car, having sustained a gunshot wound. The death was ruled a homicide.
In the wake of the incident, Albuquerque police arrested Mohtasem Mahir Thabata on May 29, 2025. After consulting with the District Attorney's Office, detectives charged him with an open count of murder. Thabata told investigators that he was angry and that Sedillo had "fucked me over." He was booked into jail pending a pretrial detention hearing, as prosecutors sought to keep him incarcerated until his trial. No other suspects were identified by the police in connection with the death. Reports noted that Sedillo had a criminal history, and in several recent cases had been found incompetent to stand trial.
