Man hides in storage room and kills ex’s friend after ambush, New Mexico officials say
A man accused of fatally shooting a friend of his ex-girlfriend after an ambush was convicted of second-degree murder in New Mexico, officials said.
Chase Brandon Cuffie, now 40, stalked his ex-girlfriend, then killed her friend Craig Dixon in a shooting in July 2023, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office said in a March 28 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The ex-girlfriend and two friends, including Dixon, were on a first-floor patio at the ex’s apartment in Albuquerque “when a man emerged from an outdoor storage room with a black handgun,” police said in a news release at the time.
The man’s face was hidden by a shirt, but the ex-girlfriend identified him as Cuffie, police said. She told police he’d “been stalking her for several months,” per the release.
Cuffie “forced (his ex-girlfriend) and her friends inside the apartment,” and he shot and killed Dixon when Dixon made a run for the door, according to prosecutors.
Along with the second-degree murder conviction, a jury also found Cuffie guilty of three counts of aggravated assault, prosecutors said.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney March 31 and was awaiting a response.
A sentencing date wasn’t announced.
In an online obituary, the 28-year-old Dixon was described as “a light that shined bright.”
The father of two had a passion for basketball and enjoyed spending time with loved ones, the obituary said, adding that Dixon “has left an indelible mark on our lives.”
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