A 19-year-old in New Mexico was charged after he arranged his parents’ murder believing their death would make him rich.
On Monday, Darren Munoz and his friend Julio Zamora were arrested after the pair allegedly pulled off the killing of Munoz’s dad and step-mom.
According to the arrest affidavit obtained by ABC7, Munoz planned to have Oscar and Dina Munoz killed for ‘several weeks or months’ with the help of two friends.
Munoz had planned the murder to ‘take over the parents’ belongings/finances,’ per the affidavit.
He reportedly believed that his father owned the Allsups franchise, a brand of convenience stores in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
The plan was for Zamora to come in through the garage and shoot Munoz’s parents as they slept, per the report. Another friend had agreed to carry out the shooting if Zamora couldn’t.
Around 4.50am on December 15, police responded to a call reporting a suspected burglary from the couple’s Clovis home, more than 200 miles east of Albuquerque.
When Clovis police arrived, Munoz was standing outside the opened garage and told officials that everything was fine.
Darren Munoz, 19, was arrested after reportedly arranging his parents’ death for his inheritance
Oscar and Dina Munoz were each shot in the head as they slept in their beds on December 15
Police insisted on checking on Oscar, 58, and Dina, 71, but Munoz told them not to go inside because ‘his parents slept naked.’
Munoz led the responding officer into the home anyway and had him wait while he went into his parent’s bedroom.
Per the affidavit, Munoz emerged with his hands ‘covered in blood.’
The couple had each been shot in the head.
Police found Dina Munoz already dead from the gunshot wound. Oscar was taken to Lubbock hospital where he died from critical injuries.
When they took him in for questioning, Munoz told police that the security alarm on the garage door woke him up. He denied hearing any gunshots.
Munoz enlisted the help of his friend Julio Zamora, who reportedly carried out the shooting in exchange for some money
‘It made no sense that Munoz would hear the garage door alarm go off but not hear gunshots down the hall from him,’ countered police in the arrest affidavit.
Nothing was missing from the home and there was no sign of forced entry.
Munoz’s girlfriend spoke to police about the incident.
She said that Munoz had planned to trade an AR rifle for a ghost Glock or pistol.
He was seen in surveillance footage putting a 9mm Glock in his waistband just 12 hours before his parents were killed.
His girlfriend also told police that she was with Munoz and Zamora when they bought 9mm ammunition.
According to police, Darren reported a suspected break in at their New Mexico home and met them outside the open garage
Police arrested Zamora outside of his home with the 9mm Glock, which he confirmed was the murder weapon.
He admitted that Munoz had asked him to kill his parents.
Munoz was charged with two counts of first degree murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, and solicitation to commit first degree murder.
Zamora was charged with two counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
According to Oscar Munoz’s LinkedIn, he was a supervisor at an Allsups store for almost 24 years.
The Allsups brand is owned by the convenience store operator Yesway, which is operated by the private equity firm Brookwood Financial Partners, LLC.
The Daily Mail contacted the Clovis police department for more information.
