A family in Southwest Albuquerque is grieving after a deadly shooting left two O’Reilly Auto Parts employees dead during what began as an argument over an oil filter.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting happened Sunday evening at the store near Coors Boulevard SW and Blake Road SW. Witnesses reported that Richard Newman, 47, and his 18-year-old coworker, Jesus Valdez, became involved in a dispute with customer Ismael Tena.
According to investigators, Tena’s father told deputies they had gone to the store to exchange an oil filter and requested two additional containers of oil, claiming the originals were wasted due to the “incorrect filters.”
When the request was denied, Tena allegedly grew upset, grabbed two containers of oil, and walked out. Newman and Valdez followed him outside. Deputies said that’s when Tena pulled a gun and shot both employees. Tena later told deputies he feared for his safety, claiming the employees had shoved and punched him, Albuquerque-based ABC affiliate KOAT.
However, investigators noted in the criminal complaint that they found no markings on him consistent with that account. Richard Newman’s family described him as a man who lived to care for others. “He was a hard worker, a provider. He did everything. Everything for us,” said his son, Michael Newman. “He cared. He did anything for anyone that he possibly could do.
That weight will forever weigh heavily on us.” Michael said the family is leaning on each other as they try to process their loss. “We are numb and we’re grieving. We’re all coming together to try to endure this tough moment in our lives. But, as a family, we will get through this. He wouldn’t want us to cry for him.”
Richard’s wife, June, said their lives will never be the same. She shared that she had known her husband since third grade and the two had been married for 30 years. “He was the sole provider. He did everything for us. I got sick, so sick, and you know, he took me to all my appointments because I can’t drive.
He handled my medication,” she said. Tena has been arrested and is facing two counts of murder in the deaths of Newman and Valdez.