Man Charged With Murder Over Enchilada Dispute
Man Charged With Murder Over Enchilada Dispute
The News
A 22-year-old New Mexico man is charged with murder after police say he shot and killed his cousin during a dinner argument over how spicy their green chile enchiladas were.
Ervin Gutierrez is accused of fatally shooting Nathaniel Cavazos, 25, outside an Albuquerque apartment complex. Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman announced the charge Friday.
Gutierrez has been charged with an open count of murder. The Gateway Pundit reported he is being held without bond.
Timeline
Gutierrez drives more than three hours from Roswell to the Copper Hills apartment complex in Albuquerque to cook dinner with Cavazos and another cousin, Kamyl Serrano, according to local outlet KOB 4.
The three are drinking and eating when an argument breaks out over how hot the green chile is. Gutierrez claimed the chiles in his enchiladas were hotter than the ones Cavazos had made for himself and another person, KOAT reported, citing court records.
Serrano suggests walking the dogs to cool things off, but the two men keep arguing and a physical fight starts, per KOB 4.
Cavazos tries to walk away from the fight. Gutierrez pulls out a gun and fires, striking his cousin several times outside the apartment complex, authorities said.
Gutierrez, who reportedly turned himself in, is booked into the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center.
DA Sam Bregman announces the murder charge in a Facebook post.
Reactions
Bregman laid out the sequence himself in a public Facebook post, writing that the two men were at the apartment drinking and having dinner when they began arguing over how spicy the green chile in their enchiladas was, and that Gutierrez shot Cavazos several times outside the complex.
The case drew national pickup within a day, carried by outlets across the spectrum — from The Independent and Law and Crime to Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit — largely on the strain of a killing that police trace to an argument over pepper heat.
No attorney for Gutierrez has been reported making a public statement.
What's Next
Gutierrez remained in the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center as of Saturday afternoon. An open count of murder under New Mexico law leaves the degree of the charge to be determined as the case proceeds.
No trial date has been announced.
More
The Relationship
Local media identified Cavazos as Gutierrez's cousin. Serrano, who was present and suggested the men walk the dogs to defuse the fight, is also a cousin, according to KOB 4.
Green Chile
Green chile is a signature New Mexico ingredient, and heat level is a routine point of argument at dinner tables across the state. Police say this one ended with a man dead in a parking lot.
Poll
What does a case like this say about violent crime in America?
Colleges Condemn Students Mocking Kirk Assassination Anniversary
Charleston White Arrested Again on Florida Battery Charge
Sep 13, 2026
Border Patrol Rescues MS NOW Crew in Desert
Sep 13, 2026
Supreme Court Restores Missouri's Old House Map
Sep 13, 2026
Alaska Drops Felony Voter Charges Against Samoans
Sep 13, 2026
Trespasser Breaches Harris' Malibu Estate; No Arrest
Sep 12, 2026
Hegseth Pressed Downed Airmen Into 60 Minutes
Sep 12, 2026
Houthis Seize Mokha, Choking Saudi Oil Exports
Sep 12, 2026
Altman Rules Out OpenAI IPO This Year
Sep 12, 2026
Jury Acquits Lil Durk in Murder-for-Hire Case
Sep 12, 2026
Judge: Trump Broke Law Halving FEMA Staff
Sep 12, 2026
Maher Calls Democrats' Gaza Genocide Claim a Lie
Sep 12, 2026
Blizzard Revives StarCraft, Sends Diablo to Netflix
Sep 12, 2026
Trump's Queens Childhood Home Sells for $1.93M
Sep 12, 2026
Scientists Find New Virus in Tick Invading US
Sep 12, 2026
Britain Bans Settlement Imports; US States Threaten Payback
Sep 12, 2026
Prison Fire Kills 7 as Kurds Protest Killing
Sep 12, 2026
Kosovo Rallies for Ex-President Before Hague Verdict
Sep 12, 2026
Cruz Booed at GameDay Over College Sports Bill
Sep 12, 2026
Blast Hits Bulgarian Arms Plant Supplying Ukraine
Sep 12, 2026
Sep 13, 2026