In the early morning hours of Saturday, August 8, 2026, the quiet of an Albuquerque neighborhood was disturbed by suspicious activity at the home of 34-year-old Dante Conley. Neighbors later reported hearing unusual noises and seeing a blue Ford F-150 pickup truck backed into Conley's yard. They also noted the absence of Conley's own black Lexus SUV. Later that day, after receiving a 911 call from concerned neighbors, police officers arrived at the residence in the 1100 block of Arizona St.
NE to conduct a welfare check. Inside, they made a grim discovery; Dante Conley was deceased. The scene suggested a violent struggle had taken place.
Investigators believe that 43-year-old Collin Terrazas broke into Conley's home around 4:30 AM. It is alleged that Terrazas stabbed and possibly shot Conley, and also attempted to set the house on fire before fleeing the scene in the victim's black Lexus SUV. In a bizarre turn of events, nearly three hours after the incident, Terrazas reportedly walked into a smoke shop on San Pedro Dr. SE with his hands covered in blood. He confessed to an employee that he had killed someone, stolen money, a gun, and a vehicle, and had also set a house on fire. During this confession, Terrazas referred to himself as "Michael the Archangel."
Following the discovery of Conley's body, the investigation quickly pointed toward Collin Terrazas. Detectives utilized video surveillance from the smoke shop to identify him and connect him to the blue F-150 seen at the crime scene. Using license plate readers, they tracked the pickup to his home in the South Valley. The stolen black Lexus was later located in a parking lot at the Journal Center in Northeast Albuquerque. When detectives attempted to make contact with Terrazas, he was taken into custody by SWAT officers in the parking lot of a Bass Pro Shop. Terrazas has since been charged with an open count of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and tampering with evidence, bringing a swift, though unsettling, development in the tragic and violent death of Dante Conley.
