They Filmed It, Laughed and Shared It, Police Say: 4th Teen Reportedly Charged in Shocking Killing of Cyclist
Four teenagers have now been arrested in connection with the hit-and-run death of a 63-year-old man
The victim was a physicist who was biking to work
Police allege the teenagers purposefully hit the man and posted video of the incident on social media, leading to their arrestsA fourth teenager has now reportedly been arrested in connection with an allegedly purposeful and fatal hit-and-run of a 63-year-old physicist who was riding his bicycle to work last May.
Scott Dwight Habermehl, the 63-year-old physicist, was killed in the May 29, 2024 hit-and-run crash. According to the Albuquerque Police Department, four teenagers were involved in the incident, which they later posted video of on social media, leading to two of the teenagers' arrests.
A 13-year-old boy was arrested and charged with murder on March 17 of this year, Albuquerque police previously announced. An 11-year-old boy and another teenager were also previously arrested in connection with the case.
Now, a boy who was 15 years old at the time of the crash has been arrested, according to a report by The Associated Press, citing police.
The APD did not immediately return an inquiry for comment from PEOPLE.
In March, police said 'an 11-year-old boy and a 15-year-old are also accused of participating in the crime,' while announcing the 13-year-old's arrest. The AP reports police discovered a fourth boy was inside the vehicle, which was stolen and used in the hit-and-run crash.
Several people police spoke to told investigators they recognized the sound of this fourth teenager's voice when they watched the video, according to the AP, leading to his identification. The teenager initially denied being in the vehicle with the other boys but had been sharing details about the crash with friends in social media chats, according to the outlet.
PEOPLE reported in March that the previously arrested 13-year-old boy was charged with an open count of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm or death and unlawful possession of a handgun by a person.
The 13-year-old is believed to be the driver, according to police, who said at the time the 15-year-old would be charged with the same crimes as the other teenager arrested in March. Children 11 and younger can't be held at a juvenile detention center. New Mexico courts can try teenagers ages 15 to 18, and sometimes 14, as adults for first-degree murder after a grand jury indictment.
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The APD said in March that it received an 'anonymous tip that cell phone video of the crash had been posted on social media,' which included the identity of the Instagram account and its user. As detectives investigated the Instagram account, a middle school principal reported to Albuquerque Public Schools police that a student reported the same video of the crash.
Police searched the teenagers' phones and discovered videos they had taken of the crash from inside the vehicle.
That video captured the boys' conversation as the 13-year-old driver said he was going to hit the bicyclist as he made the vehicle accelerate. 'The back passenger, believed to be [the 15-year-old], said not to hit the bicyclist going too fast. 'Just bump him, brah.' The driver responded, 'Like bump him?' [The 15-year-old] repeated, 'Yeah, just bump him. Go like…15…20,' ' police said in the March press release.
As the vehicle's front passenger side struck Habermehl, the 11-year-old, who was believed to be the front passenger, was allegedly waving a handgun in the vehicle, ducked and laughed, per the release. The crash's momentum then allegedly carried Habermehl and his bicycle on top and off the vehicle's passenger side.
'I am horrified by the video footage of a brazen, heartless killing involving three New Mexico juveniles—ages 11, 13, and 15—who targeted an innocent cyclist," New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement in March. "This case is an appalling and heartbreaking reminder of the serious juvenile crime crisis we face in New Mexico––and our lack of tools to properly address it.'
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