The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday dropped charges against two of the four men charged in the shooting death of Jaydon Chavez-Silver last summer.

District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said charges against Donovan Maez and Christopher Cruz were both dropped Wednesday.

Both faced first-degree murder, attempting to commit first-degree murder, shooting at an occupied dwelling resulting in death, shooting from a motor vehicle and conspiracy charges – all felonies.

Brandenburg wrote in a news release that she had consulted with Chavez-Silver’s family before making the decision.

However, Chavez-Silver’s mother, Nicole Chavez, said in a statement to KOB that she was “not consulted, but informed” that the charges would be dismissed.

“We are completely devastated with today’s news. After losing our son, the least we had hoped for was to get Justice for Jaydon. We do not agree with the statement that was issued by the District Attorney’s office, as we were not consulted but informed of the charges being dismissed, this came as an utter shock to our family. We pray that anyone with any information will come forward and tell the truth regarding Jaydon’s case. We will continue to fight to get justice for our son. We have seen firsthand the injustices in the legal system and we will continue to work towards fixing these flaws. We pray that there will be Justice for Jaydon,” Chavez wrote in the statement.

“Based upon the evidence in our possession, we do not believe it is appropriate for those cases to proceed at this time,” Brandenburg wrote in her statement.

But she said she believes there is enough evidence to move forward on the charges against the two others implicated in the crime: Dominic Conyers and Nicholas Gonzales Villasenor.

Conyers was arrested in early March after police determined there were three shooters at the scene. Gonzales Villasenor, who was 16 at the time of his arrest last August, is being charged as a serious youth offender and could face life in prison if he is convicted of first-degree murder in the case.

Maez is the son of former state representative Stephanie Maez, who stepped down after the charges came to light.

Jon Day, Maez’s attorney, spoke to KOB from Las Cruces, where he is currently representing former Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputy Tai Chan in a murder trial.

“What we’ve learned is an outrageous example of incompetent, shoddy, police work,” Day said. “Donovan and Chris Cruz are completely innocent. So today the district attorney — and we give them credit; we presented them the results of our investigation — interviewed witnesses, re-interviewed witnesses, looked at physical evidence, did the job APD should have done.”

“After he was arrested, his grandfather, who is a retired United States Secret Service Agent, who is also a private investigator — in those 10 months, we’ve been working, reinvestigating the case, doing the job the Albuquerque Police Department should have done,” Day added.

Chavez-Silver, 17, was killed at a party in northeast Albuquerque last June in a drive-by shooting.

Maez and Cruz were released from the Metropolitan Detention Center just before 10 p.m. Thursday and reunited with family and friends after spending nearly a year in jail. Their families are expected to give statements Friday.

Gonzales Villasenor was not listed as being in custody, nor was Conyers.

Albuquerque police on Sunday arrested a woman suspected of starting a fire a week ago that severely burned the historic Desert Sands Motel in Albuquerque.

Jennifer Maestas, 37, is charged with arson over $20,000 after the fire, which displaced about 60 people.

A criminal complaint for Maestas’ arrest says investigators obtained surveillance video from the owners of the motel, who helped fire investigators identify Maestas as the suspect.

While she did not directly admit to causing the fire, she told fire investigators that a lighter was used to start the fire inside one of the motel’s rooms, which was corroborated by investigators.

Damage to the motel has been estimated at $1.5 million.

A judge set her bond at $15,000 cash or surety at her first appearance Tuesday.

Albuquerque police released further details Tuesday about a bizarre scene in southwest Albuquerque Sunday that left one man dead and have arrested the primary suspect in the case.

Police said Tuesday they have identified one of three suspects in the shooting death of 24-year-old Alfredo Ayala, who was named Tuesday as the victim in the shooting in the 8900 block of Alvera Avenue SW.

The suspect, 32-year-old Alexander Velasquez, was arrested Tuesday afternoon near 64th and Juniper NW.

Velasquez and two accomplices drove up to the home on Alvera and found Ayala and three other men outside, according to police.

The four eventual victims were forced inside the home at gunpoint by the three suspects.

Once inside, the four victims and the wife of one of the victims were broken up and forced into different rooms. At least one of the victims was handcuffed by the assailants.

Police say two of the suspects went through the house and “ransacked” it while looking for drugs and money.

The names of the victims, aside from Ayala, are not being released for their safety.

After the house was ransacked, Velasquez — the main suspect — told his accomplices he would have to kill all the victims because one of them knew him.

He then shot Ayala in the head and shot another nearby victim, merely striking the top of that person’s hat.

Velasquez went into another room, where two other victims were being held. He shot at one of the victims, but missed, according to police. He also pressed the muzzle of his gun up against the homeowner’s head and fired, but the homeowner turned his head at the last second and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

In total, the main suspect fired at each of the four victims. One was killed, one was shot in the face and two were unharmed. The wife of the homeowner and her young child, who were also in the home at the time, fled when shots were fired.

Police say the homeowner played dead until the three suspects left and went outside to find his wife, who was in the street screaming for help.

Police are looking to charge the suspect with an open count of murder, assault with intent to commit a violent felony, four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, shooting at a motor vehicle, shooting at an occupied dwelling, six counts of kidnapping, child abuse, aggravated burglary, armed robbery and conspiracy.

Albuquerque police arrested a 14-year-old boy Wednesday who is accused of running a man over several times in northeast Albuquerque last Friday afternoon.

14-year-old Matthew Jaramillo faces murder, stolen vehicle and tampering with evidence charges in the death of 46-year-old Richard Sisneros, who died at UNMH after he was run over.

APD spokesman Tanner Tixier said officers learned of Jaramillo’s involvement while investigating a suspicious death, when a 15-year-old male arrived at Kaseman Hospital with a gunshot wound Wednesday. He later died at the hospital. Tixier says police are treating his death as suspicious at this point, but have not ruled out homicide.

A criminal complaint for Jaramillo’s arrest says Jaramillo was driving a stolen SUV that day, picked up a prostitute off Central and drove to a parking lot in the 200 block of Virginia SE to ditch the vehicle.

A man, identified by neighbors at Sisneros, started yelling at Jaramillo to leave the parking lot and stood in front of the stolen vehicle. The complaint states Jaramillo told police he tried to get Sisneros to move, but he wouldn’t, so Jaramillo ran him over.

He also admitted to police, according to the criminal complaint, that he dragged Sisneros down the road in an attempt to “detach” him from the vehicle near the intersection of Virginia and Chico NE. Witnesses said Jaramillo drove back over him up to three times.

Jaramillo then allegedly then ditched the vehicle behind a four-plex near General Arnold and Central SE. But when he went back to get the vehicle, it was gone, according to the criminal complaint.

Sisneros died early the next morning.

Police were able to identify Jaramillo as the suspect in Sisneros’ death when on Wednesday, they responded to a home in the 12000 block of Central SE, where they found the vehicle in which the 15-year-old boy was transported to Kaseman Hospital.

When officers interviewed the people at that home, they said Jaramillo had stayed there on the night he allegedly ran Sisneros over and that he admitted to killing the man.

It was after that police were able to pick up Jaramillo, interview him and arrest him.

APD spokesman Tanner Tixier said the cases are not connected save the people involved.

A person shot and killed by law enforcement during a traffic stop along I-25 near San Antonio is the same suspect in an armed carjacking that happened Thursday morning in Albuquerque, police say.

Southbound I-25 has been closed since around 1:30 p.m. Thursday after the shooting, which happened just before 12:30.

Socorro County sheriff’s deputies attempted to stop a vehicle near the San Antonio exit. New Mexico State Police spokesman Sgt. Chad Pierce said shots were fired during the traffic stop and officers returned fire, striking a person in the vehicle. A sheet was seen covering a body outside a vehicle at the scene. SCSO deputies and NMSP officers were involved in the shooting, but it’s unclear who fired the fatal shots.

Albuquerque police said Thursday evening the person shot carjacked a person at knifepoint around 11 a.m. near the intersection of 6th and Central. The carjacking victim suffered a cut on his hand in the incident.

Motorists are being redirected onto other roads in the area and have been asked to reduce speed, obey posted signs and watch for emergency personnel.

No further information has been released at this time; stay with KOB Eyewitness News 4 and KOB.com for updates.