In the summer of 2020, a tragic event unfolded in Las Vegas, New Mexico, that cut short the life of a vibrant 16-year-old female, Adelina Tafoya. On the night of July 6th, Adelina was driving with five teenage passengers, ranging in age from 14 to 17, near Storrie Lake State Park. The group was heading towards the lake when they noticed a silver SUV began to pursue them.
In an attempt to evade the trailing vehicle, Adelina turned into several residential areas, but the SUV relentlessly stayed on their tail, following them to the entrance of the lake.
The situation escalated when the teenagers exited their vehicle to understand why they were being followed. Men inside the SUV opened fire on the group of teens. In the chaos that ensued, Adelina was struck by a gunshot to the head and died shortly after. The violence also left two other teenagers wounded; another 16-year-old girl was shot in the back of the head, and a 15-year-old boy was shot in the arm. Three other teens in the car, aged 14, 15, and 17, were physically unharmed.
The subsequent investigation by the New Mexico State Police revealed a case of mistaken identity with tragic consequences. Investigators learned that the shooting was connected to a drug deal gone wrong. A man named James Kent Muse had allegedly been robbed of heroin and cash earlier that day. In response, Nico L. Barela, 30, and Roger A. Tait-Gomez, 29, went searching for the person responsible for the robbery. They mistakenly identified the vehicle driven by Adelina as belonging to the rival drug dealer they were seeking.
Through the use of security camera footage from local businesses and homes, investigators were able to identify the silver Nissan Pathfinder involved in the shooting, which was registered to Tait-Gomez. This led them to identify Barela and Tait-Gomez as the suspects. On July 24, 2020, Nico L. Barela was arrested and charged with an open count of first-degree murder, among multiple other charges. At the time of Barela's arrest, law enforcement was still searching for Roger A. Tait-Gomez, who also faced an open count of murder. Barela had a prior conviction for homicide by vehicle from 2009. It was only after the shooting, upon seeing a news article on Facebook, that the suspects realized their fatal mistake – they had not targeted rival drug dealers, but a car full of teenagers.
