Ervin Joaquin Gutierrez faces an open murder charge after police said a family dinner argument ended with Nathaniel Cavazos fatally shot.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 22-year-old man accused of killing a relative after a dispute over green chile enchiladas has moved into New Mexico district court, where records show Ervin Joaquin Gutierrez appeared for arraignment while in custody on an open count of murder in the death of 25-year-old Nathaniel Cavazos.
The district court proceedings mark the latest verified step in a case that first drew attention because of the seemingly minor disagreement police say preceded the killing. A Second Judicial District Court calendar listed Gutierrez for a Sept. 18 arraignment in case D-202-CR-2026-03121 before Judge Matthew E. Chavez. The calendar identified the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office as prosecuting the case and the public defender’s office as representing Gutierrez. No final judgment in the murder case was found in the court material reviewed for this report.
Before the case reached arraignment, prosecutors sought Gutierrez’s detention. A court calendar for Sept. 4 listed a pretrial detention hearing and said Gutierrez was being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center. The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office later reported that a judge ruled he would remain in custody as the judicial process continued. Detention before trial does not establish guilt; it determines whether a defendant will remain jailed while the criminal case is pending.
The state’s case grew out of a late-August gathering at the Copper Hills apartments on Spanish Bit Street Northeast. Reporting based on the criminal complaint dates the shooting to late Aug. 27, although some later accounts described the gathering as taking place Aug. 28. According to investigators, Gutierrez traveled from Roswell to Albuquerque and spent the afternoon with Cavazos and another relative. The three bought groceries, prepared green chile enchiladas and drank alcohol before the evening deteriorated into an argument.
The surviving relative became a central witness. He told police that Gutierrez complained that the chile placed on his enchiladas was hotter than the chile served to Cavazos and the witness, according to the Albuquerque Journal’s account of the criminal complaint. Gutierrez challenged Cavazos to taste his plate, the witness said. Cavazos replied that they were eating food made from the same batch. The witness tried to interrupt the growing tension by proposing a walk with a dog, but investigators said the disagreement continued and eventually turned physical.
The account given to police complicates any attempt to reduce the case to a bizarre argument about food. Investigators say Cavazos punched Gutierrez and the men entered a fistfight. The witness said Cavazos got the better of Gutierrez before he separated the two. During that struggle, a firearm that belonged to Cavazos fell to the ground, according to the complaint. The witness said he picked up the gun and kept it, an important detail because police allege Cavazos was no longer armed when the shooting occurred moments later.
Investigators say Cavazos began walking away after the fight. Gutierrez, who had been injured during the confrontation, allegedly drew another handgun. The witness described the men referring to their family relationship immediately before the shots were fired. Police allege Gutierrez fired multiple times at Cavazos. Responding officers later found Cavazos outside the apartment complex. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The prosecution’s version remains an allegation that must be proved in court.
The complaint also describes communications after the shooting that could become significant as the case develops. The witness showed detectives Snapchat messages investigators said came from Gutierrez. In one, he asked whether Cavazos had died. In another portion quoted by local reporting, Gutierrez said he had not wanted to kill Cavazos but did not want Cavazos to kill him. That statement suggests a possible claim that Gutierrez feared for his safety, but detectives questioned that explanation in the complaint.
Police noted that the witness said Cavazos was walking away and was not holding the gun that had fallen during the fistfight. Detectives also wrote that Gutierrez was taller and about 50 pounds heavier than Cavazos, a comparison they cited when assessing his stated fear. Those are conclusions contained in the investigative record, not findings made after a trial. Whether the shooting was legally justified, whether the witness’s description is fully accurate and how any physical evidence supports the competing interpretations are matters for the court process.
After leaving the apartment complex, Gutierrez eventually surrendered. Albuquerque police spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos told the Albuquerque Journal that Gutierrez turned himself in to officers who were patrolling downtown. He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center. Early news accounts described the accusation as an open count of murder, the charging form reflected in subsequent court records. The precise degree of homicide and any lesser or alternative theories ultimately pursued are legal questions governed by the filings and rulings in the case.
The court documents also provide a firmer timeline than several secondary reports that appeared after the shooting. Gutierrez had a detention hearing scheduled for Sept. 4 and an arraignment set for Sept. 18. By the latter proceeding, the case was formally listed in the Second Judicial District’s criminal division. The publicly indexed calendar named prosecutor Emilie Edmonds and listed the Albuquerque public defender’s office for the defense. The available material reviewed here did not establish a trial date or show that the case had been resolved.
The dinner dispute remains part of the state’s narrative because it explains how investigators say the conflict began, but the legal case will turn on events after that dispute became violent. The key issues are expected to center on the fistfight, the location and possession of the firearms, Cavazos’ movements before the gunfire, the witness account, Gutierrez’s subsequent messages and any other physical or forensic evidence admitted in court.
Currently, no publicly indexed record reviewed for this report showed a conviction or other final disposition. Gutierrez therefore remains an accused defendant, and the state bears the burden of proving its murder allegation. Cavazos’ death, meanwhile, is no longer merely the subject of an unusual police report; it is the basis of an active felony prosecution moving through New Mexico’s district court system.
Author note: Last updated October 20, 2026.