Steven Sanchez was 34 when he was shot dead in Las Cruces, New Mexico, in the early hours of April 29, 2024. Police were called to a home on the 1900 block of Princess Jeanne Drive about 3:30 a.m. following reports of a shooting. Officers found Sanchez in a backyard shed with a fatal gunshot wound to the head; he was pronounced dead at the scene, a day after his 34th birthday.

Witnesses said Sanchez went into the backyard with another man, identified as 25-year-old Isaiah Joseph Rea. Another person then announced that Steven had been shot. The Las Cruces Police Department issued a warrant charging Rea with first-degree murder and called him armed and dangerous; officers located and arrested him after a brief vehicle pursuit on May 2.

Authorities have not publicly disclosed a motive for the killing.