On July 4, 2023, 19-year-old Alana Gamboa was found dead inside her car near the intersection of Kathryn and Columbia in Southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Albuquerque Police Department responded to a call of a possible car crash in the early morning hours and discovered Gamboa had died from gunshot wounds.
The investigation revealed that Gamboa had been set up for a robbery under the guise of a drug deal.
A 14-year-old suspect, identified as Lorenzo Lovato, had arranged to purchase mushrooms and marijuana cartridge vaporizer pens from Gamboa through social media. However, witnesses reported that Lovato's intention was to rob her.
Gamboa agreed to meet Lovato in the area of Columbia Drive and Kathryn Drive SE around 12:35 a.m. When she arrived, she was shot while sitting in the driver's seat of her car. The fatal shot went through her arm and struck her heart and lungs.
On August 4, 2023, APD arrested two teenagers in connection with Gamboa's murder. Lorenzo Lovato, 14, and Micalas McClendon Jr., 15, were taken into custody and booked into the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center. During questioning, McClendon initially gave inconsistent statements but later admitted to shooting Gamboa during the robbery.
The investigation continued, and on August 23, 2023, a third suspect was arrested. Luis Diaz, 16, was taken into custody for his role in Gamboa's murder.
Detectives pieced together the details of the crime using social media conversations, witness information, and surveillance video. They also discovered that Lovato was on supervised probation with the juvenile probation office at the time of the murder. A search warrant for his phone records placed him at the scene of the shooting.
The case has been closed by the Albuquerque Police Department. Gamboa's mother, Andrea Aguirre, expressed relief at the arrests but emphasized that this is just the beginning of the legal process. She voiced concerns about the possibility of the suspects being released when they turn 21, given their violent criminal history.
