Bashir found guilty of first-degree murder

Nov. 10—Jurors on Tuesday found Darian Bashir guilty of first-degree murder in the 2019 shooting death of a University of New Mexico baseball player.

The 2nd Judicial District Court jury required only half a day to reach its guilty verdict in the May 4, 2019, killing of Jackson Weller, 23, outside a Nob Hill nightclub. Jurors began deliberating shortly before noon Tuesday and reached a verdict by about 4 p.m.

Jurors also found Bashir, 25, guilty of tampering with evidence for hiding a license plate that was among the evidence that linked him to the killing.

Members of Weller's family cried and hugged after Judge Cindy Leos read the verdict.

"Justice was served," Lisa Praeger Weller, the mother of Jackson Weller, said outside the courtroom. The loss of her son remains difficult for the Dallas-area family, she said.

"It's never easy to lose a loved one, especially like this," she said.

Bashir himself, who wore a mask, showed little emotion as a corrections officer placed handcuffs on him as the judge read the verdict. Several members of Bashir's family wept softly and quickly left the courtroom.

The first-degree murder charge has a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years before Bashir is eligible for parole, prosecutors said. Bashir faces an additional three years for the tampering with evidence conviction. A sentencing hearing is likely in January.

Jurors were asked to choose between two conflicting accounts presented by prosecution and defense attorneys.

Testifying in his own defense Monday, Bashir acknowledged firing the gunshot that killed Weller.

Bashir made a "calculated judgment" to kill Weller in revenge for an earlier fight between Weller and a close friend of Bashir's, prosecutors told the jury in closing arguments Tuesday.

But Bashir's attorney countered that Weller and a second UNM athlete intimidated Bashir by following him closely for 10 steps and making offensive comments in the moments before Bashir turned and fired a single round into Weller's chest.

Bashir "felt angry, anxious" before turning and shooting Weller, his attorney, Robert Aragon, told jurors in closing arguments.

"This whole encounter lasted just a few seconds," Aragon said. "It was rash and it was impulsive," he said, but there is no evidence that the shooting was planned.

Aragon asked jurors to find Bashir guilty of a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, based on the theory that Bashir was "provoked" by the actions of the athletes in the moments before the shooting.

Weller's killing shocked the community and was one of the factors that prompted Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to deploy 50 State Police officers for several weeks to Albuquerque to help quell violence.

Bashir's case also fueled debate about changes to the state's judicial system.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and 2nd Judicial District Attorney Raúl Torrez argued at the time that Bashir should have been in jail pending trial on prior charges.

Torrez released a statement Tuesday applauding the prosecution and the jury's quick verdict. He also criticized the defense strategy.

"I also share the Weller family's outrage at the baseless accusations concocted by Bashir's defense team regarding alleged statements made by Jackson on the night of his murder," Torrez said in a written statement.

Defense attorneys alleged that the athletes used racially and emotionally charged language while following Bashir that angered and provoked him.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina also issued a statement Tuesday celebrating Bashir's conviction and credited the hard work of police and prosecutors.

"This guilty verdict is welcome news for a community that was rocked by this senseless crime in Nob Hill," Medina said in the statement. "Our homicide detectives worked hard, under incredible pressure, to solve this crime."

Much of the discussion Tuesday hinged on the way Bashir parked his silver Mercedes-Benz when he arrived at the scene of the shooting near Richmond and Central NE.

Prosecutors alleged that Bashir parked his car near an alley and left the motor running because he intended to kill Weller.

"That speaks to the state of mind of the defendant," Deputy District Attorney John Duran told jurors. Bashir also came armed with a .38-caliber revolver, he said.

Bashir parked his car near Last Call, a walk-up burrito stand, where just minutes before Weller fought with Bashir's close friend, D'Angelo McNeal, witnesses testified.

"Bashir was not in the fight," Duran said. "Bashir didn't know who was in the fight and he wanted to be sure he had the right person."

Duran recalled the testimony last week of UNM baseball player Nico Garza, the second athlete who was at Weller's side at the time he was shot.

Garza testified Tuesday that the gunman approached them on Richmond NE and asked, "Hey, were you the guys that fought with those guys over there?"

When Weller responded in the affirmative, Bashir calmly told them to follow him, Garza testified.

Bashir "did his own twisted investigation," Duran told jurors.

He also replayed for jurors a security video of the shooting that he said confirms the sequence of events. The video was shown dozens of times for jurors throughout the trial.

Duran told jurors that Bashir gestured with his left hand while drawing the pistol out of his back pocket with his right.

"It's like a magician's trick," Duran said. "It's a sleight of hand. This left hand is the distraction. The right hand is the intention."

As the athletes followed, Bashir turned quickly and fired one round, striking Weller in the chest. Weller later was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Defense attorney Aragon argued that Bashir's choice of a parking place did not show his intent to commit a murder. The narrow alley offered a poor escape route because he could easily have been blocked by an oncoming car, he said.

In his testimony Monday, Bashir told jurors that the two athletes initiated contact with him by "talking smack" in his direction. After Bashir approached, the two athletes began following closely behind Bashir, making him feel angry and fearful.

Court records show Bashir had several previous encounters with law officers in connection with gun-related crimes.

In November 2017, Bashir allegedly shot a young man in the stomach in Downtown Albuquerque. The man was seriously injured but survived. A spokesman for the DA's office later acknowledged that mistakes were made and deadlines missed in that case resulting in its dismissal in January 2019.

Three weeks later, Bashir was accused of firing an assault rifle from another vehicle. The DA's office asked that Bashir be held in jail pending trial, but a judge denied the request, releasing Bashir on his own recognizance just weeks before Weller's killing.

Bashir pleaded guilty in December 2019 to shooting at or from a motor vehicle and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in that case. A plea agreement calls for him to received up to three years in prison. A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.