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Two men have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in Downtown sa国际传媒官网网页入口 after an argument and physical altercation escalated to gunfire.

Josiah Watts, 19, and Xavrein Trotter Jr., 19, are charged with an open count of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence in the death of 21-year-old Enock Elumba.

Both were booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Wednesday. It is unclear whether either has an attorney.

Officers patrolling near Sixth Street and Central Avenue NW on June 14 heard 鈥渁 sequence of gunfire鈥� around 1 a.m., according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

Police rushed toward the sound and found a man, later identified as Elumba, lying in the roadway, the complaint states. Elumba was taken to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

Witnesses told police that a man later identified as Trotter approached Elumba in the middle of the street and shot him at least three times, according to the complaint.

Surveillance footage showed Watts and Trotter walking with a group on Sixth Street, just north of Central Avenue NW, shortly before 1 a.m. Watts appeared to notice Elumba walking down the street, the complaint states.

鈥淭rotter yelled disparaging remarks toward Elumba, and Watts crossed the street, also yelling at Elumba,鈥� sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said in a Wednesday news release.

Watts and Elumba then got into a physical altercation before Watts allegedly pistol-whipped Elumba, according to the complaint. Footage showed Elumba falling to the ground before Watts fired several shots.

Moments later, surveillance video showed the group fleeing the scene. Watts allegedly met up with Trotter and others in a nearby parking lot before the group got into a vehicle and drove away, Gallegos said.

A nearby police officer noticed the vehicle leaving the parking lot 鈥渁t a high rate of speed with no headlights on,鈥� according to the complaint. The vehicle was moving erratically, and its doors were still open.

Detectives used automatic license plate readers to identify the vehicle and track it to a South Valley home, where they later identified Watts as the suspected shooter, Gallegos said.

Investigators later learned that Watts and Trotter had allegedly been involved in a separate shooting in Northeast sa国际传媒官网网页入口, according to the complaint. Trotter was on active parole at the time, and police used data from his ankle monitor to track his movements that night and connect him to the other shooting.

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.