Man charged with 2020 murder, armed robbery appears in court

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Rashad Duhart had a brief appearance in court Friday, but the appearance had been a long time coming.

In February of 2020, police said Andres Loera was found murdered inside a car near Taylor Park and Inez Elementary School in northeast Albuquerque.

One year later, investigators managed to connect the dots between Loera’s death and four young suspects – Serina Burks, Ryan Baca, Markell Barnes, and Rashad Duhart. Investigators referred to them as a violent robbery group.

“This murder was committed over one ounce of marijuana,” said Raúl Torrez, Bernalillo County district attorney.

Investigators said it was just another example of the real dangers involving the mix of social media, drugs and guns.

“It was a crime of opportunity is what it looks like,” said APD Deputy Commander Kyle Hartsock. “They hit up multiple people that night to try to set up a drug deal, we think it was to rob them. He was the one that agreed to it first.”

In addition to the murder, investigators linked the group to the drive-by shooting at the home of an APS teacher. That shooting was captured on home surveillance video, and police said that was in retaliation against a witness.

The suspects then reportedly took a trip to Portland, Oregon, where they were accused of robbing a marijuana dispensary. They were arrested for that after returning to New Mexico.

Duhart was sent back to Oregon where he was held without bond on charges related to the robbery. Then he was sent back to New Mexico with an agreement that he will be returned to Oregon following his trial.

Duhart’s case was moved to district court for a pretrial detention hearing.