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Three men have been charged in a four-year-old homicide that happened during an attempted armed robbery in Downtown sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

Adrian Avila, 22, Elias Barron, 24, and Joseph Silva, 23, are each charged with an open count of murder, attempted armed robbery, shooting at a motor vehicle and tampering with evidence in the Aug. 3, 2021 killing of 23-year-old Rafael Torres. 

It is unclear if any of the three have attorneys.

A fourth suspect in the homicide was killed in a July 2025 shooting in Rio Rancho, according to police.

Avila is currently behind bars at the Penitentiary of New Mexico, serving a 29-year prison sentence on two murders, in 2020 and February 2021.

Silva was arrested on Thursday at a home in Northeast sa国际传媒官网网页入口. Barron was arrested April 11 after being found with cocaine while loitering at the Raising Cane鈥檚 on Wyoming. Both have been booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Prosecutors have filed motions to keep Barron and Silva behind bars until trial, saying they each 鈥渒illed Torres in cold blood, and there is absolutely no justification for his actions.鈥�

The case, which was initially investigated by a detective who left it unsolved, was handed off to another detective on Feb. 20, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. 

It was around 4 a.m. on Aug. 3, 2021, when an officer on patrol spotted a black Kia in a dirt parking lot at Seventh and Gold SW. In the driver鈥檚 seat Torres鈥� body was slumped to the side 鈥� a single gunshot wound to his chest.

Empty cans of Mike鈥檚 Hard Lemonade and bullet casings from two different calibers were found in the vicinity of Torres鈥� vehicle, the complaint states. Surveillance video showed Torres and numerous others hanging out in the lot when a group surrounded Torres. 

At one point, the video showed Torres get into the vehicle and try to reverse when someone fired into the car and everyone scattered from the area, according to the complaint. Over the following months, police found the two guns used in the shooting, one discarded in a backyard and the other seized during an arrest.

In August 2022, during an interview in an unrelated case, a man told police he was there when Torres was killed and identified 鈥淏aby WAPO鈥� and 鈥淓lias鈥� as being involved, the complaint states. The man said Torres was bragging about having $2,000 cash and a rifle in his trunk and 鈥淏aby WAPO,鈥� 鈥淓lias鈥� and others 鈥渄ecided to rob鈥� Torres.

Police said the man told them Torres tried to leave and gunfire erupted, telling detectives he saw 鈥淏aby WAPO鈥� and at least two others with a handgun.

In April 2023 Avila鈥檚 prints were confirmed as being on a can of mango Mike鈥檚 Hard Lemonade left at the scene and, in June 2025, Silva鈥檚 prints were also determined to match prints found at the scene, the complaint states. The man who witnessed the shooting identified Avila as 鈥淏aby WAPO鈥� and Barron as 鈥淓lias鈥� in a photo lineup.

Police said the man told them the other person who fired at Torres from a distance went by 鈥渙fficial_jogeezy鈥� on Instagram. Detectives traced the Instagram account to Silva, according to the complaint.

In May 2025, police interviewed Avila and he told them he didn鈥檛 know the other suspects and 鈥渨as unable to give government names due to fears for his safety,鈥� the complaint states.