An Aztec teenager on probation has been accused of fatally shooting a man and injuring another after an alleged break-in involving a Jeep.
Angello Murphy, 18, allegedly shot and killed Kit Stephens of Aztec and wounded Dune Stephens in the leg Sept. 13 after they confronted him about their Jeep Cherokee being burglarized, according to an arrest affidavit.
Murphy was placed on probation Aug. 7 after pleading no contest to possession of a controlled substance. He was arrested for violating probation but reinstated Sept. 9.
Less than a week later, Murphy allegedly tried to break into the Jeep and shot Kit and Dune Stephens, the affidavit says.
“Immediately after the killing, the defendant sought out another firearm to continue to pose a danger to the community,” the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office wrote in a motion for pretrial detention filed Sept. 15 in 11th Judicial District Court.
Murphy was arrested the same day and booked into the San Juan County Detention Center on charges of second-degree murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence.
Sheriff’s investigators responded Sept. 13 to County Road 2575, where Kit and Dune Stephens had been shot.
Witnesses said the two men “caught the suspects trying to break into his tan Jeep to possibly steal the vehicle,” and approached them, the affidavit says.
Dune told investigators his father walked up to a GMC Sierra pickup and he heard “approximately two to three” gunshots before Kit “fell to the ground,” the affidavit says.
Dune said he stepped out of his vehicle and “shot one round” toward the pickup. He then came under fire and tried to take cover. He was shot in the leg and flown to a hospital.
Murphy’s 17-year-old girlfriend was reportedly driving the pickup. She told investigators she took Murphy to the Jeep so he could “check out the Jeep,” and said she was “unsure if he was trying to steal the vehicle.”
She claimed Kit and Dune “shot first,” but Dune said the incident happened too fast for his father to react and fire first.
She said Murphy “pulled a gun from his waistband” and fired at least four times. She said she didn’t know he had a gun until he fired.
Murphy told investigators he thought Kit and Dune were police officers and claimed they fired first. He admitted to “firing multiple rounds near the front passenger door,” and continued shooting at their vehicle “until his firearm went dry,” the affidavit says.
He also said the gun used in the shooting was gone and argued with his aunt about wanting a .40-caliber handgun “because he no longer had his 9 mm subcompact firearm used during the homicide,” the affidavit says.
The case has been assigned to 11th Judicial District Court Judge Curtis Gurley.
