Man kicks in woman’s door, fires 13 shots and kills her, New Mexico officials say
A man kicked in a woman’s door and fatally shot her, and now he’s heading to prison, New Mexico officials said.
Adrian Chavez, 29, was ordered to serve 30 years behind bars in Kelsey Cash’s 2022 killing, according to officials.
The sentence came after a jury convicted Chavez earlier this year of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and aggravated burglary, the Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office said in a June 26 news release.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney June 30 and was awaiting a response.
Chavez and Cash had been in an on-off relationship that was volatile, prosecutors said.
They had a child together, KRQE reported.
Chavez showed up to Cash’s apartment March 23, 2022, and kicked in the door, according to prosecutors.
He “fired 13 rounds at Cash, fatally wounding her,” prosecutors said.
Chavez had called her numerous times that evening “and was the last person to speak with her before her death,” prosecutors said.
Security footage captured him showing up to her apartment “in a black Dodge Charger and fleeing the scene minutes after a 911 call was placed,” according to prosecutors, who said an eyewitness testified that the shooter “fled in the same black Charger seen on surveillance.”
Cash, from Clovis, was 28 when she died, according to an online obituary.
She earned an esthetician license and loved to be with her daughter “and make as many memories as possible,” the obituary said, adding that she also liked to “binge watch her favorite TV shows, listen to her rap music and have (a) great time with her best friends.”
The mom “was loved by so many and she touched each person that came across her path,” the obituary said.
In the news release, Ninth Judicial District Attorney Quentin Ray said, “this sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime and the enduring pain caused by the loss of Kelsey Cash. We hope this verdict brings a measure of justice to her family and loved ones.”
Clovis is about a 220-mile drive southeast from Albuquerque.