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Testimony begins in first-degree murder trial
Jun. 23—Testimony began Monday in the trial of a South Valley man who prosecutors say fatally shot 30-year-old Anjel Varela after conspiring with others to rob the victim outside a Northeast Albuquerque apartment complex.
Bobby "Littles" Lopez, 30, is accused of shooting and killing Varela in his car after a robbery coordinated between Lopez, another woman and Varela's passenger went awry.
Lopez has been charged in 2nd Judicial District Court with first-degree murder, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon. The trial is scheduled through Friday before Judge Emeterio Rudolfo.
Authorities say that Lopez is a known member of Los Padillas, a South Valley gang with a longstanding history of homicide, drug trafficking and other offenses.
Lopez's attorney, Sandra Gallagher, told jurors Monday that three key witnesses, Danielle "Foolish" Cordova, Brianna "Shorty" Garcia and Delilah Lopez, cut a deal with the state in exchange for reduced charges in Varela's killing.
"When you make a deal with the state, you have to throw someone into that volcano," Gallagher said in opening statements.
Garcia agreed to testify against Bobby Lopez when she pleaded guilty to numerous prior felony charges as well as second-degree murder, armed robbery and conspiracy, according to her 2023 plea agreement. Cordova also agreed to testify when she pleaded guilty to armed robbery and conspiracy in 2023, court records show.
Similarly, Delilah Lopez's murder charges were dropped after entering a plea agreement in which she agreed to testify. Delilah Lopez is charged with armed robbery and conspiracy.
All three had originally been charged with an open count of murder, robbery and conspiracy, the same charges that Bobby Lopez originally faced.
Assistant District Attorney Christine Jablonsky said in opening statements that Garcia, spiteful over being sold "bad heroin" by Varela, orchestrated the armed robbery and enlisted Bobby Lopez. Garcia asked Varela for a ride and messaged Cordova on Facebook about the pair's whereabouts as they drove around Albuquerque, Jablonsky said.
Garcia asked Varela to pull over at the Skyline Apartments on Louisiana and Mountain so she could use drugs, at which point Bobby Lopez, his girlfriend Delilah Lopez and Cordova parked nearby after tailing the pair across Albuquerque, Jablonsky said. Bobby Lopez posed as a member of Garcia's family and asked Varela to sell him drugs, she said.
Once in the car, Bobby Lopez grabbed Varela's gun from his lap while Garcia took $80 and a dab kit, used for smoking cannabis, from the car, according to a criminal complaint filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.
Bobby Lopez then shot Varela in the back and he and Garcia left him slumped over and bleeding in his vehicle, Jablonsky told jurors.
Varela's girlfriend, Clarissa Sanchez, took the stand Monday and tearfully recalled finding his body.
"I put my hand on his chest, I felt how cold he was and I knew he was dead," Sanchez said.
