13-Year-Old Charged With Murder in Albuquerque Hit-and-Run
A 13-year-old is charged with murder, an 11-year-old is in custody, and police are searching for a 15-year-old in a deliberate hit-and-run killing of a bicyclist in New Mexico
Police have charged a 13-year-old with murder, taken an 11-year-old into custody, and are continuing to search for a 15-year-old in an apparently deliberate hit-and-run of a bicyclist in Albuquerque. The incident, which occurred in May 2024, was recorded on video inside a stolen car.
The detained 13-year-old is believed to have been the driver of the car that struck and killed 63-year-old physicist Scott Dwight Habermehl while he was biking to his job at Sandia National Laboratories. The other boys are believed to have been passengers.
A video of the crash, recorded from inside the car, was later circulated on social media. Authorities were alerted after a middle school principal reported the video when a student flagged it. On Tuesday, police released a portion of the footage, which ends just before impact. It shows the car accelerating as the flashing tail light of a bicycle becomes visible. A voice, believed to be the 15-year-old’s, says, "Just bump him, brah."
According to police, the driver then asks, "Like bump him?" A passenger responds, "Yeah, just bump him. Go like… 15… 20." The video shows the car veering into a marked, dedicated bike lane. In the full recording, loud sounds, including "metal flexing," can be heard, according to law enforcement.
Charges and Investigation
The 13-year-old and 15-year-old have been charged with:
- 1. Murder (open count)
- 2. Conspiracy to commit murder
- 3. Leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm or death
- 4. Unlawful possession of a handgun by a minor
The 11-year-old has been placed in the custody of the state's Children, Youth & Families Department for evaluation. A week after the fatal crash, police had already arrested him on an unrelated felony warrant.
Detectives are now working with prosecutors and state social workers to determine what charges, if any, can be brought against an 11-year-old. Under New Mexico law, children 11 and younger cannot be held at a juvenile detention center, while juveniles 13 and under can only be sentenced to detention until they turn 21.
Michael Rosenfield, the court-appointed attorney for the 13-year-old, declined to comment ahead of an initial meeting with his client.
Legal and Legislative Response
Under New Mexico law:
- Teens 15 to 18 (and in some cases, 14) can be tried in adult court for first-degree murder after a grand jury indictment.
- Prosecutors can seek adult sentencing in juvenile court for certain serious crimes.
The case has sparked fresh debate over juvenile justice reform. A similar incident in 2023 in Las Vegas involved teenage boys who allegedly recorded themselves deliberately hitting a bicyclist, who later died.
State legislators in New Mexico have advanced a bill that would slightly expand the number of juvenile cases eligible for adult sentencing. However, with the legislative session set to adjourn on Saturday at noon, time is running out for the bill to be reviewed by the Senate.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham condemned the incident, stating she was "horrified" by the video and "appalled" by the lack of legislative action on juvenile justice reform.