News footage of Sheliky Sanchez in court on Aug. 20 (KOB).
A New Mexico teenager who was charged with randomly murdering an Uber driver now faces new charges in a separate case involving his 7-year-old brother.
The Bernalillo County District Attorney”s Office said in an Aug. 14 Facebook update that 18-year-old Sheliky Sanchez was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, child abuse, and witness intimidation. Those charges stem from an alleged May incident and were uncovered during the investigation into the homicide of Uber driver Joseph Andrus earlier this month.
According to prosecutors, Sanchez allegedly pointed a gun at his 7-year-old half-brother in May. Prosecutors detailed the new charges during a Wednesday detention hearing, according to local NBC affiliate KOB. During the hearing, prosecutors said that Sanchez was drunk when he allegedly threatened the boy with the gun and told him “not to tell,” though prosecutors did not specify what prompted the threat.
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When police interviewed Sanchez in connection with the Andrus case, he allegedly claimed that “he had killed three other people when he was a juvenile,” prosecutors said. Police have begun investigating those claims, but KOB reported they remain unverified.
In court on Wednesday, Judge Brett Loveless said, “Holding a firearm to the head of a 7-year-old child is violent and clearly was disturbing to the alleged victim.” Loveless ordered that Sanchez remain in custody until trial.
Sanchez was originally being held on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Andrus on Aug. 7. As Law&Crime previously reported, Sanchez told police that he allegedly shot Andrus because “he wanted to let some steam off due to ‘so much stress and so much bulls—.'”
