Slaying of couple nets consecutive life sentences - Albuquerque Journal

March 28, 2019 at 12:35PM

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The young man and woman were shot to death in the prime of their lives.

Their young killer will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Brandon Vigil

"I know I'm going to spend a lot of time thinking about this," Brandon Vigil, 21, said Wednesday just before he was sentenced for the murders of two of his friends. "I hope I can live at peace someday and forgive myself as well for what I've done."

Second Judicial District Judge Alisa Hart sentenced Vigil to two consecutive life sentences for the murders of Daniel Miramontes and Consuela Rios, who were both 19 when they were shot and killed in a home near Bridge and Coors SW in July 2017. Vigil, also 19 at the time of the murders, last year pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder midway through his jury trial.

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Defendants sentenced to life in prison in New Mexico are not eligible for parole until they have served 30 years. Hart's decision to stack the sentences so they are served consecutively will mean Vigil won't be eligible for a release until he's served 60 years, Deputy District Attorney David Waymire said.

Relatives and friends of Miramontes, Rios and Vigil filled Hart's courtroom during the sentencing hearing. Miramontes and Vigil had been friends since they were children, according to court documents and testimony.

Miramontes was a football player at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School, and Rios was a cheerleader. They were both in college and had career plans, their relatives said during the sentencing hearing.

Miramontes wanted to be an architect, and Rios wanted to be a medical technician or perhaps an orthodontist someday. Rios made Miramontes happy, friends and relatives said, and Rios' relatives said she frequently flashed a big smile, even with her braces.

"We'll never see her smile without braces, because you killed her before she could have them removed," said Patricia Archuleta, Rios' mother.

Vigil had originally told police that he shot Miramontes in self-defense after the two had a dispute over money, and that he also shot Rios during a chaotic altercation at the home in Southwest Albuquerque.

Hart said during the hearing that several factors led her to hand down consecutive sentences. She said Vigil's claims of self-defense showed a lack of remorse.

"I have trouble understanding how somebody with no criminal history could find himself in the position he is in today," she said. "But nonetheless, this is where he is. Those are the facts. I don't get the sense of any remorse with regards to the killing of his two friends."