On February 11, 2023, a trip to a Circle K gas station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, turned fatal for 24-year-old Michael Urioste, a Hispanic male. That Saturday afternoon, at the intersection of Juan Tabo and Lomas Boulevards, Urioste witnessed a man, later identified as 58-year-old Eric Ford, in a volatile confrontation with a female clerk. Ford was reportedly causing a scene, and when the clerk asked him to leave the premises multiple times, he responded by punching her.
Seeing the
assault, Urioste intervened to protect the employee. He confronted Ford, and the two men began to fight, their struggle spilling out into the parking lot near the gas pumps. As they wrestled on the ground, a woman accompanying Ford, identified as his wife, got out of their vehicle and began striking Urioste with a cane. Another bystander stepped in to try and stop the woman. Amidst the chaos, Ford pulled out a firearm and shot Urioste. He also fired additional rounds, injuring another man who was pumping gas.
After the shooting, Ford and his wife fled the scene in a car with Utah license plates. Emergency services were called, and Urioste was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries. The other man who was shot received treatment for non-life-threatening wounds. Albuquerque Police Department homicide detectives began an investigation, utilizing surveillance footage and witness statements to identify the suspects.
Two days later, on February 13, an officer from the Foothills Area Command conducted a traffic stop on the suspect's vehicle at the Four Hills Shopping Center. Eric Ford and his wife were taken into custody for questioning. Following their interrogation, detectives obtained a search warrant for a motel room where the couple had been staying. There, they discovered the firearm believed to have been used in the shooting, as well as clothing that matched what the suspect was wearing on the day of the incident. Eric Ford was subsequently arrested and charged with an open count of murder. It was later revealed that he had a significant criminal history dating back to the 1990s, including charges for drug possession, illegal firearm possession, armed robbery, and assault.
