Teens charged with murdering Steve Gerecke appear in court for first time

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Albuquerque officers found bartender Steve Gerecke dead in his driveway
Ryan Archibeque, 17, Christopher Rodriguez, 16, Jeremiah King, 16, and Andrew Hubler, 15, appeared in court as serious youthful offenders
Enrique Palomino and Matthew Baldonado, both 14, charged as juveniles
Charges are murder, aggravated burglary and assault with deadly weapon
One of the younger teens told police Jeremiah King was the only person in the ground who was armed that night
Five of the six teens have criminal records or past run-ins with the law

By Dailymail.com Reporters and Associated Press

Published: 10:52 EST, 13 July 2015 | Updated: 01:41 EST, 14 July 2015

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Six New Mexico teens face murder charges after authorities say one of them gunned down a 60-year-old man in his driveway while the group was breaking into cars and homes in a neighborhood.

Steve Gerecke, 60, was found dead in his driveway with multiple gunshot wounds on June 26. The suspects range from 14 to 17 years old.

Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden said during a Friday news conference that one of the boys confessed on Thursday but the investigation is ongoing.

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Four of the six teens charged with murdering Steve Gerecke: Andrew Hubler, 15, (top left), Ryan Archibeque, 17, (top right), Jeremiah King, 16, (bottom left), and Christopher Rodriguez, 16, (bottom right)

Victim: New Mexico police found Steve Gerecke, 60, dead in his driveway with gunshot wounds on June 26

'There are gaps that have to be filled, and there are still a lot of questions that have to be answered,' the chief said, as the grieving family of Gerecke stood at his side.

Suspects Ryan Archibeque, 17, Christopher Rodriguez, 16, Jeremiah King, 16, and Andrew Hubler, 15, appeared in court on Friday afternoon on charges that include murder, aggravated burglary and assault with a deadly weapon, according to KOAT.

Prosecutors said those four were charged as serious youthful offenders, meaning their cases will proceed as if they were adults - something Gerecke's family called for during the news conference.

Police think King was the shooter.

The two 14-year-olds, Enrique Palomino and Matthew Baldonado, are being charged as juveniles.

Gerecke's family members hold hands during a news conference at police headquarters on Friday afternoon

Heather Alter, Gerecke's daughter, said her father did not deserve to be executed.

'I want to address the parents of these animals,' she added. 'Where were you? Why did you let your children run the streets at 3am?

'I hold you, the parents, responsible. Just know a tsunami is coming.'

The neighbors of one of the teens, Andrew Hubler, said they often called the cops on the group, who they claimed would often come back around 2 or 3am drunk and high.

'It was pretty much like a playground for the kids,' neighbor Summer told KOB. 'The mom was never there. She didn't even have a key to her own apartment.'

Both Summer and fellow neighbor Nichole said they called the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department last month, as well as CrimeStoppers.

The women had recognized Hubler in a surveillance video while watching news about a break-in that occurred just two weeks before Gerecke was murdered.

'If something would've happened with our reports that we put in or with CYFD, them coming to check up on them, doing a welfare check, something could've been different,' said Summer.

Five of the six teenagers have criminal records or past run-ins with police, and a number of their parents have been cited for abuse.

Hubler's mother, Lynda Hubler, was accused of child abuse and abandonment in 2006, according to Albuquerque Journal.

'My dad didn't deserve this': Six teens 'gun down' 60-year-old

Gerecke (with his daughter and at work) tended bar in Albuquerque for more than 20 years

The 15-year-old was accused of stealing shorts from Kohl's last year and recently tried to shoplift vodka before punching a Wal-Mart security guard and biting his forearm, police said.

In April Christopher Rodriguez and his mother Misty were found trying to start a car with a screwdriver, police said.

The mother was charged with transferring a stolen motor vehicle and child abuse, as well as drug possession after police found a pill bottle with methamphetamine that belonged to her.

A few days after Enrique Palomino was caught shoplifting several bottles of vodka from a Wal-Mart last year, he was taken into custody of CYFD.

Palomino had told police his mother Amanda beat him and his younger brother and sister, who was taken to the hospital from a head injury caused by the alleged abuse.

Amanda Palomino told officers she was on methadone and that the family was homeless.

The 14-year-old ran away from two shelters. In May it was discovered he had been in a stolen car that crashed, an incident that police said Christopher Rodriguez and Hubler were also involved in.

Matthew Baldonado was accused of defacing tables and bathroom stalls at a McDonald's in 2014 and has also been charged with shoplifting aerosol cans at Wal-Mart.

Jeremiah King was charged with receiving stolen property in 2014.

Ryan Archibeque is the only teen in the group that has no criminal history or contacts with police.

Investigators say it appears Gerecke was returning home from his shift at the bar Spectators when he saw the boys leaving his home and confronted the group, who had apparently used a garage door opener found in Gerecke's wife's car to get into his home, when he was shot.

Investigators say it appears Gerecke confronted the group after they had broken into his home (pictured)

Heather Alter, Gerecke's daughter, said her father did not deserve to be executed

One of the younger teens told investigators that his 16-year-old friend, presumably King, was the only one in the group armed with a gun that night, and that King had fired shots at another man who caught them earlier in his home trying to steal his television.

That man was not injured but the burglars made off with his cellphone, credit cards and keys.

The armed teen also bragged and joked about shooting Gerecke as the group went on to break into more homes, according to the warrants.

Eden said detectives had already started to work on previous reports of mob burglaries in the northeast heights when Gerecke was shot.

Police tracked credit cards, including one that belonged to Gerecke's wife, stolen during the June 26 crime rampage and used surveillance video from a Wal-Mart and other locations to find the suspects.

A security guard at Highland High School was able to identify two of the teens seen in the video footage.

The husband, father and grandfather was a fixture at the popular Spectators, where he had tended bar for more than 20 years.

Gerecke is survived by his wife, Venita Gerecke, his daughter, son-in-law, brother, sister-in-law, four nieces and nephews, and grandchildren.

His wife said: 'I can honestly say that for 25 years, I have been treated like a queen, spoiled rotten and, at times, as is with human nature, took it for granted.

'Our last encounter was a kiss, an "I love you" and my wishing him a fun night.'