In the early morning hours of June 21, 2021, the life of 37-year-old Kenny Rougemont, a male, came to a tragic end in an Albuquerque, New Mexico, motel room. Responding to a call about a possible deceased person around 3 a.m., officers from the Albuquerque Police Department arrived at a Motel 6 near Interstate 40 and Coors Boulevard on the city's west side.
Inside one of the rooms, they discovered Rougemont's body on the floor between two beds.
The scene within the motel room suggested a night of turmoil, with numerous alcoholic beverage containers and narcotic paraphernalia, including a glass pipe and syringes, scattered about. An autopsy would later determine that Rougemont died from a single gunshot wound to his chest. The investigation into his death quickly focused on a woman who had been with him in the hours leading up to the discovery of his body.
The suspect was identified as Johana Y. Quintana, a 31-year-old woman from Pecos, New Mexico, who had been in an on-and-off relationship with Rougemont. Surveillance footage from the motel captured Quintana leaving the room at a fast pace shortly before 2 a.m. and getting into a gray Kia with distinguishable rims and front-end damage. Police later found the vehicle abandoned in Pecos. New Mexico State Police arrested Quintana in Pecos on June 23.
During questioning, Quintana admitted to shooting Rougemont but claimed it was an accident that occurred during a violent altercation. She told detectives that Rougemont, who she said had been using methamphetamine, accused her of infidelity and became violent. She alleged that he choked her, punched her, and put a pillow over her face. Quintana stated that she grabbed a handgun to scare him, but he punched her in the eye and took the weapon from her before the fatal shot was fired. She then fled the room, sold the gun for gas money, and never contacted the police. While police did photograph an injury to Quintana's eye, they noted a lack of other injuries. She was ultimately charged with an open count of murder and tampering with evidence in connection with Kenny Rougemont's death.
