A wild courtroom brawl erupted during a pretrial hearing in Albuquerque, N.M. last week after the uncle of a slain woman charged at her alleged killer.
Video shared by the Bernalillo County District Court shows a man jumping from his seat and over a partition, then running to attack the defendant, Alexander Ortiz.
Ortiz is accused of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend, 23-year-old Alianna Farfan, in January 2024. Farfan was the mother of a 1-year-old daughter.
Chaos ensued in the courtroom after Farfan’s uncle, 40-year-old Carlos Lucero, tackled the defendant — all in front of the judge. Several other people — including the defendant’s father, Joeray Ortiz, and Farfan’s stepfather, Pete Ysasi — also joined the fight, which broke out around 9:30 a.m. on Friday.
Lucero can be seen in the video throwing punches at the alleged killer. Ysasi is accused of punching a corrections officer, who was trying to protect the defendant.
The older Ortiz was also seen joining the scuffle and punching the other two men. He told police he was trying “to break up the fight,” according to a criminal complaint.
Lucero and Ysasi were arrested and charged with battery upon a peace officer and unlawful assault on a jail in the incident, but have since been released on their own recognizance, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
Albuquerque police say Ortiz fatally shot Farfan at her apartment on Jan. 11, 2024. He then reportedly fled wearing a ski mask and a black hoodie.
Friends and relatives of the victim told detectives that the two were in an abusive relationship and that Ortiz was upset with Farfan on the day of the shooting. She even allowed several friends to stay at her apartment because she feared being alone, one relative told police.
On Friday, Lucero, who was granted custody of Farfan’s daughter following her death, reportedly said tackling the defendant was “worth every moment,” according to a criminal complaint.
“He killed my niece like a coward,” he said.
