ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Elizabeth Ortiz-Chavez pleaded guilty to second degree murder with a firearm enhancement in front of Judge Lucy Solomon Wednesday morning.
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In March 2022 her son, Angelo Baldonado, got into an altercation with 16-year-old Josue Ruiz behind the Lindy’s Diner in downtown Albuquerque. Ruiz was shot and killed during the incident, but questions surfaced as to who actually pulled the trigger. Witnesses said that it was Ortiz-Chavez, not her son, that shot Ruiz.
Baldonado was sentenced to four years in prison in 2023 for assault and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. The Bernalillo County District Attorney says Ortiz-Chavez tried to blame her son for the murder because he’s a juvenile and she believed he would face a lesser sentence. Ortiz-Chavez faces up to 18 years behind bars. A sentencing date has not be set.