Background: The home in Clovis, N.M., where Oscar Steve Munoz and Dina Munoz were found shot to death on Dec. 15 (Google Maps). Insets (left to right): Darren Munoz and Julio Zamora (Curry County Jail).
A New Mexico teenager was charged with first-degree murder after authorities said he got his friend to shoot his parents so they could split the inheritance money.
Police arrested Darren Munoz, 19, and Julio Zamora, 18, on Monday after Clovis Police Department officers responded to the Munoz home on York Drive in Clovis, New Mexico, early that morning. Dispatchers received a 911 call concerning a potential burglary at the house. According to an arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime, Darren Munoz greeted the officers when they arrived. Police said the teen told them that "everything had been fine there," and officers said they were going to check on his father and stepmother, 58-year-old Oscar Steve Munoz and 71-year-old Dina Munoz.
Darren Munoz told police that he did not want them going inside "because his parents slept naked." He eventually let officers inside, where they found both adults shot in the head.
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Dina Munoz died at the scene. Oscar Munoz was taken to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
When police detained Darren Munoz for questioning, he told them that his parents had just returned from a trip to celebrate their anniversary. He claimed that he went to bed between 9 and 10 p.m. and woke up when he heard the garage door alarm go off. According to the arrest affidavit, Darren Munoz lied about being the 911 caller, and "feigned confusion" when officers confronted him about his initial resistance to wanting police inside the house.
Police said that investigators confronted Darren Munoz about how he could have heard the garage door alarm go off on the other side of the house, but had not heard the gunshots fired in his parents' bedroom, which was closer to where he was purportedly sleeping. According to the affidavit, there were no signs of forced entry and no items were taken from the home.
After speaking to Darren Munoz, police questioned his girlfriend, who reported that she spent the weekend at the Munoz residence while his parents were away and returned to her home on Sunday morning.
According to the affidavit, a mutual friend of Darren Munoz and his girlfriend called the Clovis Police Department and told a sergeant that "there had been a plan in place for several weeks or months" between Darren Munoz, Zamora, and another friend to "kill Darren's parents." The alleged motive was to "take over the parents' belongings/finances" once Oscar and Dina Munoz were "out of the picture."
Police said that the same friend saw Darren Munoz at another person's home with a gun, which made the homeowner "uncomfortable." The friend told police that Darren Munoz was allegedly planning to trade an AR rifle for a "ghost Glock," which does not have a serial number. Security video obtained by police allegedly showed Darren Munoz carrying a gun within hours of his parents being shot.
Darren Munoz's girlfriend allegedly told police, "Darren had wanted his father's money and Julio had agreed to kill Darren's parents in exchange for the money when Darren got some." According to police, Darren Munoz believed that his father "owned the Allsup's convenience store franchise." Local ABC affiliate KVII reported that Oscar Munoz was a regional manager for Allsup's convenience stores.
The girlfriend also provided the alleged plan for Zamora to come to the Munoz home, get the murder weapon from Darren Munoz after meeting in the garage, and "shoot Darren's parents in their bed."
A search of Darren Munoz's phone records uncovered an alleged text conversation between Darren Munoz and Zamora leading up to the alleged murder, including "video snaps" after it was carried out.
After the double homicide made the news on Monday morning, the friend called Darren Munoz's girlfriend, who said, "Darren had done it."
Police said that Zamora was apprehended at his home the same day. During his post-Miranda interview with police, he allegedly said that "Darren had asked and solicited him to kill" his parents. Zamora had a Glock on him when he was arrested and reportedly admitted to police that it was the gun used in the crime.
Darren Munoz was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and criminal solicitation to commit murder. He is being held at the Curry County Jail without bond. His next court date is Dec. 22.
Zamora was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He is being held at the Curry County Jail without bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 22.
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