Blanco Teenager Charged with Second-Degree Murder

ALBUQUERQUE - A Blanco teenager is facing federal charges for allegedly shooting and killing a man during a dispute.

According to court documents, on Saturday, May 16, 2026, Navajo Nation Police Department officers responded to a report of a violent altercation involving a firearm at a residence in Nageezi, New Mexico, within the exterior boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Upon arrival, officers located John Doe suffering from a gunshot wound to his groin. Despite immediate aid, John Doe lost consciousness and later died from blood loss caused by the wound.

Investigators determined the dispute began earlier that evening when multiple people had a physical confrontation with the victim's father, after which one of them telephoned Alfred Josiah Castro, 18, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, to come to the area. Castro drove from Farmington to Nageezi, joined the altercation, and ultimately shot John Doe.

According to witnesses, Castro and two other males fled the scene on foot while laughing. Before losing consciousness, John Doe identified Castro as the person who shot him. Investigators later determined Castro switched the license plate on his truck after the shooting.

License-plate reader data from the City of Bloomfield placed Castro's vehicle traveling to and from the area during the timeframe of the shooting. Castro was later interviewed by the FBI; though he acknowledged being in the area, he denied any involvement in the killing.

Castro is charged with two felony crimes: Second-degree murder and Using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He will remain in a halfway house pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, Castro faces between 10 years and life in prison.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.