The night last week that ended with the shooting death of an Embudo man began with the victim and suspect playing guitar together, according to State Police.
Benjamin Myers, 36, originally from Texas, and Mark Weber, 46, originally from Michigan, got together the night of Dec. 18 to play acoustic guitar and drink wine and whiskey at Myers’ Embudo house, along with Weber’s girlfriend Naomi Mascareñas, 30, State Police Sgt. Chris Valdez said.
According to court documents, Weber “began to get a little ‘pedo’ (intoxicated) and started to say he was a wrestler,’ State Police agent Gilbert Tafoya wrote in his report.
“Ben said, ‘No wrestling in my house, but I think I can beat you up,’” Valdez said. “Mark calls him pussy, Ben calls Mark pussy.”
Apparently having had enough of the exchange, Myers got up and began to walk away. However, Weber tackled him and told Mascareñas to “(expletive) him up” with a cast iron frying pan, according to court documents.
“Ben stated, ‘As hard as they were hitting me with the pan I thought they were going to kill me,’” Tafoya wrote in his report.
In his statement to police, Myers said he was wearing jogging pants during the attack and was able to slip out of them while the couple was attacking him. Then Myers alleged grabbed his shotgun and shot Weber from approximately 12 feet away as Weber, unarmed, was advancing toward him. The shots were fired just past midnight Dec. 19, documents state.
After shooting Weber in the stomach, court documents state Myers did the following in this order: went upstairs and put on some pants, checked if Weber had a pulse, attempted CPR, called police, attempted CPR again unsuccessfully, and drove down to the turn in State Road 68 to meet State Police. Neither Valdez nor court documents could state what Mascareñas was doing during that time.
911 Dispatch logs recorded that Myers’ called for police Dec. 19 at 12:35 a.m. Myers gave police consent to search his residence, where Weber’s dead body was lying on the kitchen floor, according to court documents.
Myers was taken to Española Hospital for visible head injuries where Mascareñas allegedly struck him with the frying pan, Valdez said. He was released to the custody of police the same day and was being held on a charge of second-degree murder with a bond of $50,000 at Rio Arriba County Jail, documents state. Mascareñas has not been charged with a crime in connection with the incident. Prosecutor Timothy Hasson could not be reached for comment
Romero Murder
Meanwhile, Rio Arriba County’s other recent homicide has proven more difficult to solve. The body of David Romero, unclothed and with a stab wound to the neck, was found Dec. 5 in the Santa Cruz River in Chimayó, according to State Police.
State Police said they have narrowed their search for the 34-year-old Truchas man’s killer to a few suspects; more than one person may have been involved in the murder and the disposal of the body, Valdez said. Meanwhile, the state Office of the Medical Investigator has not been able to provide any additional information about Romero’s time of death or when he was left in the river, Valdez said.
Anyone with information about Romero’s murder is encouraged to call police at 753-5555.