Family of Good Samaritan: ‘He didn’t deserve to die’

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Pictures are now all Evette Desoto has to remember her son, Michael Urioste. 

“He was my only son, my only baby,” said Desoto. He was 24 years old, with a steady job, and a big heart.

“If someone needed help, he was there to help,” his mom said. 

Even a total stranger, like he reportedly did over the weekend. Investigators say he stepped in to help an Albuquerque gas station clerk over the weekend after Eric Ford hit her. 

Urioste and Ford fought outside, and a woman with Ford reportedly hit Urioste with a cane. Then Ford fired shots.

“That man took our hearts and our family,” said Desoto. “And our happiness, and our holidays will never be the same. Michael had so many friends and so many people loved him, he didn’t deserve to die.”

Court records show Ford has a lengthy criminal history dating back to the late 1990s. His record includes drug possession, illegal gun possession, armed robbery, assault, and now alleged murder. 

“We all don’t understand why he was walking freely, why he was able to just live in a society with innocent people,” said Linda Desoto, Michael Urioste’s aunt.

They’re now another broken family in the metro, begging for change.

“The gun violence, it just needs to stop. There’s so many people getting killed,” said Evette Desoto. “They don’t have the chance to get married, have kids, grandkids, great-grandkids. It’s sad. We want justice for Mikey. And for everyone else who’s been through this.”

You can donate to Michael Urioste’s family here.