Jury finds Rey Ruiz guilty in 2023 Walmart shooting
Caleb A. Gallegos/News-Sun
After deliberating for a short time Thursday, a Lea County jury found Rey Ochoa Ruiz guilty of second-degree murder and attempt to commit armed robbery in the murder of then 24-year-old Jordan Ruiz.
Rey Ruiz was charged in Fifth Judicial District Court with first-degree murder and attempt to commit armed robbery, after Jordan Ruiz was shot in his truck as he was leaving for lunch during his night-shift at Walmart in May 2023.
In New Mexico, second-degree murder is punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison and $12,500 in fines. Attempt to commit armed robbery is also a second-degree felony, punishable by a maximum nine years in prison and $10,000 fine.
During her opening statement to the court Tuesday, Fifth Judicial District Attorney Dianna Luce told the jurors the night Jordan was murdered was a “wild night with deadly consequences.”
In her closing statements for the prosecution on Thursday, Megan Kirtley, echoed that sentiment.
Kirtley told the jury during her closing argument as Jordan was leaving work for lunch he unfortunately didn’t get far, because his life was ended that morning.
Kirtley explained the morning of the murder police had little to go on except the fact Jordan was murdered, so police worked backwards and recovered surveillance footage from McDonald’s to hopefully assist in the investigation.
While reviewing the McDonald footage, a silver KIA being driven by a male with a female passenger slowly pull up to the drive-thru window. Another male is later see getting out of the back passenger seat of the silver KIA wearing a white shirt and read bandanna covering his face, and attempting to slide the window open, which is near a cash register, with his left hand while holding what Kirtley said is a firearm.
After the failed attempt at McDonald’s Kirtley said Rey and the other occupants of the vehicle stalked around the Walmart parking with the plans of stealing a vehicle, and eventually settled near Jordan’s truck.
Kirtley said Rey likely had plans to try and catch Jordan before he was able to get into his truck, but was unsuccessful and had come up with a different plan, forcing Rey to going around to the passenger side where Jordan was shot from.
Kirtley showed the jury photos from the autopsy, showing the three gun shot wounds Jordan suffered during the robbery attempt, and reminded the jury of the chase Rey led officers on, spanning four Texas counties.
In the body camera footage shown to the jury from the officers who first attempted to initiated the stop on the silver KIA, Kirtley said Rey can be seen wearing the same white shirt and red bandanna he was wearing in the McDonald’s footage.
A stones throw away from the wrecked vehicle the two males fled from was a gun matching the caliber used in the murder of Jordan. Kirtley said all the evidence collected at the scene of the murder matched the gun found near the wrecked vehicle.
Kirtley then told the jury Jordan’s life was ended because of a truck, and explained “theory of accessory,” saying it doesn’t matter who killed Jordan, that all three occupants were equally guilty.
During closing arguments for the defense, attorney Keren Fenderson explained to the jury how small town community losses the way Jordan was killed is met by the community at large and claimed that many citizens are quick to get involved and attempt to be a hero.
But Fenderson said the law can’t just pick someone and say they are the one that did it, and claimed the State was attempting to do so to the defendant.
Fenderson brought to question the bias testimony and credibility of the witnesses called by the state, and said that just because a witness believes something doesn’t make it fact.
Fenderson said the series of events that occurred at the McDonald’s drive-thru was innocent. Insisting the three teenagers were unaware of the restaurant being closed and just wanted food.
Fenderson insisted just because Rey was wearing a bandanna doesn’t mean he was going to rob the place, and pointed to the fact that Rey didn’t attempt to try and enter the business by any other means.
Fenderson further argued that her client didn’t pull on the window with any force, and claimed the object Rey is seen holding in the McDonalds’ security footage wasn’t clear enough to determine it was a gun. She described the object in the video as shiny, while the weapon used to kill Jordan was a dull black.
The defense attorney insisted in her closing arguments that a decision by the jury to convict her client could only be based on facts, and argued that the state presented little more than assumptions and innuendo, therefore falling short of the burden of proof.
When talk about the footage seen of the Walmart parking a lot, Fenderson told the jury there were facts to support Rey tried to rob Jordan for his truck. Stating the video shows Rey walking casually with no weapon in hand. Still, the attorney argued, there was too much left unknown, and the attorney claimed the video didn’t show her client exiting a vehicle, which brings into question who else could have been in the area.
Fenderson told the jury the topic of fingerprints caused the state to recall their crime scene tech to testify after hearing other testimonies, saying prints were recovered, but not enough to collect a full print, and called the process HPD and other agencies used to collect evidence “shoddy police work.”
Rey Ruiz will be sentenced at a later date.
