ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors say a second-degree murder conviction against a 20-year-old Albuquerque man in the deaths of two homeless men is "just."
Assistant District Attorney Vincent Martinez says that while his team pushed for a jury to find Alex Rios guilty of first-degree murder, prosecutors are satisfied with Wednesday's outcome.
Rios and two teenagers were charged with beating Kee Thompson and Allison Gorman to death with cinder blocks and other items as they slept in July 2014.
Rios' attorney, Daniel Salazar, had argued that his client witnessed the attack in a vacant lot but didn't participate.
He says the verdict shows jurors didn't find Rios as "culpable as the others" accused in the case. Salazar says he believes jurors held Rios accountable for his inaction the night of the killings.