19-year-old will spend 16 years in prison for the murder of Matthew Portillo

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- 19-year-old Jamari Sanchez will spend the next 16 years in prison for the 2021 murder of 30-year-old Matthew Portillo.

A jury convicted Sanchez of one count of second-degree murder and one count of tampering with evidence. He was sentenced in the Third District Court today. Sanchez received 15 years for the murder charge and a one year enhancement for his use of a firearm. He will be allowed to serve the final four years of his sentence on probation, court officials say.

Police officers found Portillo with a gunshot wound to the head, lying in the street on the 1000 block of East Juniper on September 5, 2021. Police say Portillo had been at the RAD Retrocade early that morning. He started to walk home after a police officer stopped him outside the bar. Court officials say that investigators discovered through surveillance video that a car slowly drove by Portillo with its headlights off. A shot was fired from the passenger side as the car passed Portillo.

"The vehicle owner in his statement confirmed that he and a group of his friends, one being Jamari Sanchez, had been drinking and partying, and detailed the events of the night," court officials stated Wednesday. "Further investigation of the Ford Taurus showed evidence of blood splatter on the passenger side door. The gun used in the incident was later located buried in a rural area ditch."

Police did not explain the motive behind the shooting.