ABQ man pleads guilty to weapons charge in triple fatality shooting

Olivier Uyttebrouck, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
·2 min read

Jun. 14—An Albuquerque man has pleaded guilty to a federal weapons charge in connection with a shootout last year in which three men were fatally shot.

Richard Kuykendall, 42, pleaded guilty on April 28 in U.S. District Court to felon in possession of a firearm. He faces 18 months in prison at an Aug. 1 sentencing hearing.

Erlinda Johnson, Kuykendall's attorney, said her client was not armed when he encountered the three men in the car. Instead, he removed a firearm from the back seat of the car after the three men were fatally shot and stashed it near a dumpster, she said.

"He admitted removing the firearm from the car to get it away from the guy in the back," Johnson said. "The guy in the back seat had just tried to kill him basically."

Kuykendall then got in the driver's seat and drove the three men to the parking lot of Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital before calling 911.

Johnson also said none of the men involved, including Kuykendall, were affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood as authorities have reported.

"We argue there's no evidence that any of them are validated Aryan Brotherhood members," she said.

Kuykendall remains in federal custody, she said.

Kuykendall has not been charged in the deaths of Branden Torres, 44, James Fisher, 41, and Michael Sanchez, 33, who were found fatally shot inside the Ford Taurus.

"At this time we do not have an (Albuquerque Police Department) case referred to our office regarding Richard Kuykendall," said Lauren Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the 2nd Judicial District Attorney's office.

Kuykendall was close friends with Torres and Fisher, who were in the front seat of the car in an alley near Cutler and San Pedro NE.

When Kuykendall opened the back seat door to get into the car, Sanchez unexpectedly fired gunshots at him from the back seat, according to federal court records.

The gunfire set off a close-quarters gunfight inside the vehicle between Sanchez and Torres, the driver, resulting in fatal gunshots to all three occupants, Johnson said.

A security video of the incident shows that Kuykendall, who was not injured, scrambled around seeking cover outside the car.

Once the shooting stopped, he opened the back seat door to check on the occupants.

Kuykendall then climbed into the driver's seat and drove the three victims to the parking lot of Kaseman Hospital where he left the car and the men.