LOVINGTON, N.M. — A Hobbs man has been sentenced to 37 years in prison after being convicted by a jury for a 2020 homicide in Lovington.
Officers responded to a call on August 12, 2020, in reference to a male gunshot wound victim. The victim, 31-year-old David Lee Casillas, died shortly after the officers arrived.
The investigation revealed that this incident occurred due to a jealously fueled love triangle involving Casillas, a woman from Hobbs and the suspect, 35-year-old Matthew Red Fuentez.
Fuentez traveled that night from Hobbs to Lovington to confront Casillas outside of the female's residence. This lead to six shots being fired and one of them hitting the chest of Casillas. This whole incident was seen by a total of five children living in the residence.
In October of 2022, a jury convicted Fuentez of second-degree homicide, shooting at or from a motor vehicle, and five counts of child abuse.
On November 29, 2022, Fuentez was officially sentenced by Judge Mark Sanchez to 37 years in prison for those offenses. The sentence was enhanced due to the use of a firearm in the incident.
The sentences will run consecutively, not concurrent, and were considered "Serious Violent Offenses". This means that Fuentez will have to serve at least 85% of his sentence before he would be eligible for parole.
He will also be tried soon for the offense of felon in possession of a firearm at a later date.
