Man sentenced for shooting dog and killing owner

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – It was sentencing day for a local suspect who admitted to shooting a man and his dog two years ago. The dog survived, its owner did not. 

On Monday, Xavier Marquez listened as the mother of Shawn Lynch shared her grief.

“Shawn was my only, my one and only child,” said Renne Brown, Lynch’s mother. 

As part of a plea agreement earlier this year, Marquez pleaded guilty to shooting and killing Lynch, and shooting Lynch’s dog back in 2021.

All because the dog may have barked at Marquez while Lynch walked the dog to a nearby barbecue.

“There was enough time, I understand from the story, for Shawn to understand his dog had been shot, and that he feared for his own life before he was shot in the brain,” said Renee Brown, Shawn Lynch’s mother.  

“In those actions a mother was left without her only child and a six-year-old was left without a father,” said Penny Gilbert, prosecutor. 

Prosecutors asked for the maximum under the plea agreement – 17 years in prison. This as Marquez awaits trial in another murder case.

“This is I do think is a product of some mental health disturbances and some substance abuse,” said Max Pines, defense attorney. 

Pines and Marquez himself told the judge he’s lived a hard life.

“I’ve lost a lot of close people due to gun violence so I do regret the actions that took place, and I do send my condolences from the bottom of my heart to the family that lost a loved one,” said Marquez. 

Second Judicial District Court Judge Clara Moran also heard from Marquez’s family members. 

But, in the end, the judge sided with prosecutors on sentencing Marquez to 17 years. 

Trial date for his second murder case has not been set yet.