Albuquerque, NM – This afternoon Luis Talamantes-Romero was found guilty of first-degree murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated burglary, attempted armed robbery, tampering with evidence, larceny, conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. Talamantes-Romero could face up to life plus 31 and 1/2 years in prison for his crimes.
Talamantes-Romero murdered Jacqueline Vigil in November of 2019 while she was exiting her residential garage to go to the gym in the northwest area of Albuquerque. Talamantes-Romero entered her garage with a gun as she was leaving and fired one shot through the driver side window which struck Vigil’s head, killing her. Talamantes-Romero then fled the scene in a brown Jeep, along with another individual. He then traveled to the home of Elizabeth Talamantes, his sister, where they drove towards San Antonio, Texas, and subsequently destroyed the murder weapon.
Talamantes-Romero was found weeks after the incident in San Antonio, Texas where federal agents detained him due to his immigration status. Talamantes-Romero was extradited back to New Mexico where he was held in custody until his trial.
The trial lasted seven days and consisted of fifteen different witnesses and experts who testified for the prosecution. This group included Karla Aguirre who was dating Talamantes-Romero at the time of the crime and to whom Talamantes-Romero had confessed the murder hours after it had happened.
“What makes this case so horrendous to our Office and to the community is that it was completely random,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “Mr. Talamantes-Romero had no reason to shoot Jacqueline Vigil as she was heading to the gym early that morning. It was clear during the trial that Mr. Talamantes-Romero was on a crime spree and selfishly took the life of a beloved mother and wife in the most careless manner. We hope the justice served today poses as a reminder to our community that we will prosecute and hold criminals accountable.”
Deputy Attorneys General John Duran and Greer Staley prosecuted the case at trial. A special thank you to Kyle Hartsock who took over the investigation as, at the time, Special Agent in Charge at the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Crime Strategies Unit.
