New Mexico teen Anna Bella Dukes was arrested on Monday for her role in the murder of 24-year-old former correction officer Elias Otero last year, the Albuquerque Journal reports. Dukes was on the run for nearly a month.
The 18-year-old was charged with murder, kidnapping, two counts of armed robbery, tampering with evidence, and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. According to police, Dukes met the victim’s brother over Snapchat and lured him into an in-person meeting. During that meeting, Nicolas Otero was robbed by three armed individuals, including Dukes’ boyfriend, and driven to his brother’s home.
“The suspects dragged the victim from his red Lexus and demanded cash, jewelry and a gun from him,” police said in a statement, per CBS News. “They entered the Lexus and another vehicle, holding the victim at gunpoint and drove to the victim’s residence.”
The kidnappers demanded a ransom from Elias Otero from outside of the house, and said they would kill his brother if he refused to cooperate. Elias threatened to shoot the individuals as he walked outside, but then Dukes’ boyfriend, Adrian Avila, fatally shot him. Avila turned himself in last month, and is facing the same charges as Dukes.
“Every day we wish that we get justice and, you know, someone to pay for what they did to him and knowing they finally turned themselves in just – it feels good that it’s not gonna go unsolved,” Otero’s mother, Alicia Otero, told KOB.
Police believe this isn’t the first time the suspects had engaged in such behavior, and utilized similar tactics in a carjacking prior to the murder.
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