ALGODONES MAN CHARGED WITH SECOND-DEGREE MURDER IN ALLEGED RETALIATORY SHOOTING

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An Algodones man has been charged in federal court with second-degree murder and a firearms offense after investigators alleged that he shot and killed another man in retaliation for a 2008 killing involving a San Felipe Pueblo woman.

Elijah Sandoval, 47, an enrolled member of the San Felipe Pueblo, is accused of fatally shooting the victim on August 15, 2026, at a residence in Algodones, New Mexico.

According to court documents, federal law enforcement officers responded to a report of a shooting and found the victim dead in the back seat of his vehicle.

The victim was also an enrolled member of the San Felipe Pueblo.

An autopsy determined that he died from a shotgun wound to the torso fired at close range.

Investigators determined that Sandoval had been at the residence with the victim and two other men before the shooting.

Authorities allege that Sandoval approached the victim while carrying a shotgun and fired at him.

Federal investigators believe the killing was motivated by retaliation connected to the victim’s earlier killing of a San Felipe Pueblo woman in 2008.

According to court documents, one witness told investigators that Sandoval referenced the woman’s son immediately before the shooting.

The victim in the 2026 case had previously admitted to killing the woman and was convicted and sentenced to federal prison for that offense.

That prior conviction is a significant part of the government’s alleged motive theory in the current case, but Sandoval has not been convicted of the new charges.

Sandoval is charged with second-degree murder and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

He remains in custody pending a detention hearing, which had not yet been scheduled when the charges were announced. If convicted, Sandoval faces a potential sentence of up to life in federal prison.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced the case.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated the shooting with assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Burkhead is prosecuting the case for the District of New Mexico.

The case involves overlapping federal and tribal jurisdiction because both Sandoval and the victim are enrolled members of the San Felipe Pueblo and the alleged conduct is being prosecuted in federal court.

At this stage, the charges remain allegations.

Sandoval is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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