New Mexico Man Gets Life in Federal Prison for 2023 Carjacking Murder

EL PASO, Texas - A New Mexico man was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso to life in prison for the carjacking, kidnapping and murder of a Las Cruces man, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in December 2023, Brayden Matthew Alvarado, 23, of Vado, New Mexico, carjacked a man before driving him onto Fort Bliss desert property and fatally shooting him in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun.

On Dec. 13, 2023, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division conducted a crime scene investigation and collected the body of a deceased individual. Two days later, an autopsy identified the individual as Abel Patrick Tarin, who had previously been reported missing by the Las Cruces Police Department and Dona Ana Sheriff's Office.

Tarin's vehicle was subsequently located, having been towed and impounded in El Paso. A search of the vehicle resulted in blood evidence and the discovery of a gunshot hole on the interior, as well as several fingerprints belonging to Alvarado. Further investigation led to Alvarado's arrest on Dec. 22, 2023.

Alvarado was indicted on Jan. 17, 2024. On Aug. 14, 2025, a federal jury found him guilty of kidnapping resulting in death and carjacking resulting in death. The kidnapping conviction carries a mandatory life in prison penalty.

The FBI, Army CID, El Paso Police Department, and Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mallory Rasmussen, Lori Hughes and Patricia Acosta prosecuted the case.

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