Kenneth Ellis, 40, was shot dead at a dance at 525 San Pedro Dr. N.E. in Albuquerque on April 6, 2024. He had arrived about 11 p.m. with his girlfriend and his uncle and was a member of the Elks Lodge. Officers arrived about 1:30 a.m. after reports of gunfire and found Ellis on the dance floor near the DJ booth with a fatal gunshot wound to the back of the head. Surveillance footage captured the shooting as Ellis turned from the dance floor to approach the DJ booth.

APD detectives arrested 45-year-old Theodore Toney and charged him with an open count of murder with a firearm enhancement; police say Toney walked up to Ellis on the dance floor and shot him once in the back of the head. Investigators say the shooting appears tied to a 2015 murder case: Ellis had testified at the trial that convicted a relative of Toney, identified as O’Shay Toney, for the 2015 killing of Ellis’ uncle, Marvin Ellis, and Ellis had reported threats related to that testimony. Anyone with information is asked to contact APD or call 505-242-COPS.