ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – One by one, the teens convicted in the case surrounding the murder of an Albuquerque bartender at his home are being sentenced.
Thursday, a judge decided Ryan Archibeque will serve probation until he’s 21, sentenced as a juvenile.
Thursday’s sentencing marks closure with three of the six teens in this case. Archibeque was 17 in June 2015 when Albuquerque bartender Steven Gerecke was shot and killed at his Heights home.
Police said Gerecke came out of his house when he heard Archibeque and his friends, who were breaking into cars and homes in the area. Just last month, Archibeque took a plea deal that did not include murder charges. Instead, he pleaded guilty to four lesser counts that included aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon.
In court Thursday, Judge Brett Loveless said Archibeque could be rehabilitated so he will be supervised on probation until he’s 21. Had Archibeque been sentenced as an adult, he would have faced 15 years.
Gerecke’s widow, Vinnie, gave incredibly emotional testimony before the sentence was handed down.
“I want Mr. Archibeque to know that any profession of sorrow coming from his mouth, any expression of regret, will fall upon my cold, dead heart with nothing but hate,” Vinnie Gerecke said.
The Gerecke family was clearly upset at the judge’s decision not to lock up Archibeque up until he’s 21.
In December, Matthew Baldonado was sentenced to stay in juvenile custody until he’s 21 on lesser charges, whereas Jeremiah King was sentenced to 25 years in prison in February after he admitted to pulling the trigger.
At this point, the three remaining teens have all agreed to plea deals for lesser charges. They have yet to be sentenced.
Christopher Rodriguez and Andrew Hubler are set to be sentenced next month, with Rodriguez being sentenced as an adult and Hubler as a juvenile.
Enrique Palomino does not yet have a date set for his sentencing, but will be sentenced as a juvenile.
