Nathan Romero, a 53-year-old Hispanic man, was fatally shot at his home on the 500 block of Hermosa Drive in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in the early morning of June 21, 2024. According to Romero’s wife, a 29-year-old man who had recently begun a relationship with her arrived just after 2 a.m., banged on an exterior wall, broke a front window, showed a gun and forced entry. She escaped through a back window and called 911 from a neighbor’s house.

From outside she heard an argument between Romero and the intruder, a single gunshot, Romero yelling, then another shot fired outside and at least four more shots from inside. Romero’s wife returned to find him unresponsive; officers pronounced him dead from a gunshot wound to the chest. New Mexico State Police stopped a vehicle leaving the scene and detained the man later identified as Elijah Martinez after officers saw what appeared to be blood on his clothes and observed a firearm and shell casings in the car. He was booked on multiple charges including first-degree murder, aggravated assault against a household member, aggravated burglary, criminal damage to property, and shooting at or from a motor vehicle.

One witness told investigators the man had argued with a friend earlier; the friend heard a gunshot after exiting the vehicle and before the man drove off. Who else may have information about the hours before the shooting or the vehicle seen leaving the scene?