On August 8, 2020, 16-year-old Donnie DJ Brandon was fatally shot at Sandia Vista Park in Albuquerque during an attempted firearm purchase that turned into a robbery and shooting. Investigators identified four people connected to the incident: Adrian Avila, JaJuan Bennett, Luis Ayala, and Armando Rodriguez.

Bennett, who was on a GPS monitor for an earlier offense when the homicide occurred, pleaded guilty in 2022 and was sentenced in October 2023 to 22 years in the Department of Corrections. Ayala, who was 17 at the time of the killing, pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and other charges in January 2023. Avila was implicated in Brandon’s death and in a separate 2021 homicide; he had been released with a GPS ankle monitor but the New Mexico Supreme Court later ordered he be returned to custody.

Anyone who knew Donnie DJ Brandon, was at Sandia Vista Park that day, or has information about the firearm transaction is asked to come forward.