Juvenile charged in Portales shooting death

Witness’ stories contradict, but a 16-year-old boy is being held in connection with Monday’s shooting death of Demariay Singleton, 18, in a Portales residence.

Officials said the youth is charged with involuntary manslaughter, unlawful possession of a handgun by a person under the age of 19, negligent use of a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence.

Portales police were called to the 300 block of South Avenue E about 10:20 p.m. Sunday in reference to a gunshot victim, according to a news release from Chief Chris Williams.

Initially, witnesses told police Singleton accidentally shot himself, the news release stated.

Investigators later interviewed witnesses who told them the 16-year-old was holding the .38-caliber pistol when it went off and hit Singleton in the head, court records show.

Singleton died about 11:40 p.m. Monday at Roosevelt General Hospital.

Records show:

At least four juveniles, ages 14 to 17, were in the home playing video games and smoking marijuana just before the shooting occurred. The boys were passing around the revolver.

The juvenile suspect told investigators he had the pistol in his lap when Singleton, sitting nearby, reached over, grabbed the pistol, played with it a bit, then put the barrel to his head and the weapon discharged.

The suspect’s version of events was corroborated by the other juveniles who said they were present when the pistol went off.

After the shooting, one of the juveniles put the pistol in a city dumpster near the house.

Officers later recovered the weapon.

As law enforcement continued to investigate, they learned there were five more juveniles in the home who fled the scene after the shooting.

One of those juveniles told police various people had been handling the pistol and a rifle “throughout the day.”

Ultimately, two witnesses told police the suspect was holding the gun when Singleton was shot.

One witness told police: “(The shooting suspect) had the pistol and had placed the pistol on his lap. At some point, (Singleton) attempted to grab the pistol (from the suspect’s) lap.”

The suspect then grabbed the pistol, before the victim could take the firearm … The pistol fired during the struggle, striking Singleton in the side of the head, the court records show.

District Attorney Quentin Ray said the suspect remained in custody into the weekend after a Thursday hearing. The suspect is being held at the San Juan Juvenile Detention Center in Farmington.

The shooting was the second in Portales this month that resulted in death.

Officials on July 17 arrested Anthony Ortega, 36, after a 12-13 hour standoff with police. Ortega is charged with killing Ben Castillo, 51, after the men struggled in Castillo’s pickup.

Records show a woman Ortega had been seeing called Castillo, a family friend, asking for help after she felt threatened.