Albuquerque hotel faces wrongful death lawsuit

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The family of a man who died outside the Ambassador Inn, located near Candelaria and I-25, is now suing the hotel.

According to Albuquerque police, 41-year-old Bradley Soza was hit in the head multiple times with a pole by one of the hotel’s security guards. He was then shot and left in the street where he was hit by a car and killed. His family says the hotel shouldn’t have even hired those security guards, and they want compensation for the death of Soza.

Investigators said the two security guards employed by the Ambassador Inn – Casper Rickords and Melvin Robinson – approached Soza, who was limping on the sidewalk near the hotel.

Surveillance video near the inn shows the two men hit him with a long pole and then shot him with handguns.

Soza then crawled into the street where he was hit.

Detectives recognized Robinson and Rickords after they were arrested.

“From Crimestoppers, we put out some information about a very distinctive moped that they were riding on downtown before that homicide,” said Gilbert Gallegos, APD spokesperson.

The new lawsuit from Soza’s family says the Ambassador Inn failed to properly vet Robinson and Rickords prior to hiring one or both to provide security at the inn.

The lawsuit also says that the management at the inn knew they had been charged in the October 2022 killing of Isaac Torres. and should have known they were going to confront Soza.

“We recognized the individuals from a separate investigation, a homicide investigation back in October,” Gallegos said.

The mother of Soza’s child is suing on behalf of their young son, for damages caused by the wrongful death of a parent.

KOB 4 has been unable to get a response from the Ambassador Inn.

The attorney in this case shared the following statement:

“The tragedy that occurred at the Ambassador Inn should not have happened. We look forward to having the court adjudicate the matter.”