Suspect in Coronado Mall shooting to remain behind bars

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The woman accused of shooting someone in the Coronado Mall parking lot last week had a court hearing Thursday.

A judge ordered 30-year-old Laura Tapia to stay behind bars until her trial.

According to police, Tapia tried to steal a car at the mall, and ultimately shot the driver.

Court documents say the victim and her sister were parked when Tapia pulled out a gun and said she needed the car.

The driver refused to give up her car, and that’s when police say Tapia shot the driver.

Police found Tapia half a mile from the scene.

At the time of the shooting, Tapia was already out of jail, with conditions, for another case. Tapia’s defense attorney argues she had a mental health issue and has followed conditions of release in other cases, prior to the shooting.

Those were all factors in the judge’s decision Thursday.

“I do find that the defendant presents a danger to the community and ultimately there’s not any combination of conditions of release that can be fashioned at this time that would adequately protect the public,” Judge Clara Moran said.

Prosecutors say they plan to take Tapia’s case to a grand jury for indictment.