ROSWELL, N.M. – Earlier this month, a jury found 17-year-old Jayvin Montoya guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of armed robbery, tampering with evidence, and unlawful carrying of a handgun by a minor.

Montoya is one of four suspects charged in the double shooting that ended the lives of 15-year-old Cameron Luna and 16-year-old Jorge Armendariz at Cahoon Park back in 2022.

“If the judge runs everything concurrent, which is one count following another, he could be facing up to 82 years,” said undersheriff Charles Yslas with the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office.

The undersheriff says they had more security inside the courtroom than usual.

“In a hearing regarding this trial, we did have an incident where one of the parents of the defendant and one of the parents of the victim, one of the victims, had an altercation in the courtroom, a physical altercation,” Yslas said.

Yslas says gun violence among teens seems to be on the rise.

“Especially lately, we’ve seen a lot of younger generations killing each other. And in committing these kinds of crimes, this younger generation, it seems as though they don’t understand the severity of their actions and the finality of death itself,” said Yslas. 

Montoya’s sentencing is scheduled for June 7.