Guillermo Ramirez, a 34-year-old male, was killed on June 20, 2024, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The incident took place in the parking lot of the Days Inn motel located at 6031 Iliff Rd., N.W., where Ramirez was an employee. He was seated inside a vehicle when he was approached by a man who opened the car door, reached inside, and shot him once in the face.
Ramirez died at the scene.
Investigators from the Albuquerque Police Department determined that the shooting occurred shortly after 1 p.m. Homicide detectives identified the suspect as 37-year-old Michael Pacheco. The motive for the shooting was reportedly Pacheco's anger over a suspected relationship between his girlfriend and Ramirez. Pacheco's girlfriend was also an employee at the same Days Inn. Surveillance video from the motel captured the moments leading up to and during the shooting. The footage showed Pacheco checking into the motel earlier that day and later approaching the driver's side of the car Ramirez was in. After the shooting, Pacheco fled the scene in a black Jeep SUV that he was known to drive.
On July 9, 2024, an arrest warrant was issued for Michael Pacheco, charging him with an open count of murder and tampering with evidence. Detectives were able to track the Jeep to the residence of Pacheco's ex-girlfriend. A search of the home uncovered a firearm and other evidence suggesting Pacheco had been staying there. Pacheco was later apprehended in Tom Green County, Texas, by local sheriff's deputies in connection with a separate incident in that community. He was held on the Albuquerque murder warrant and was also charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Texas.
