ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A man wanted by Houston police for killing his pregnant, teenage girlfriend has been arrested in Albuquerque. “They’re charging him with two counts of murder for the woman and the unborn baby,” said APD spokesman, Gilbert Gallegos.
Houston police say 31-year-old Justin Herron shot and killed his girlfriend, 18-year-old Patra Perkins, in a Houston area hotel room. Perkins was 8 months pregnant. “It was a pretty heinous type murder,” said Gallegos.
Police say Perkins’ body was found on Sunday, August 4. She had been shot several times. Police say the room she was found in was rented by Herron from August 2-9.
According to a GoFundMe set up by Perkins’ family, Herron was the unborn baby’s father. Herron was named as a suspect and had murder charges filed against him two days after Perkins’ was found, but no one could find him until Saturday night.
Then, Albuquerque police say they got a call from security at the Walmart on Carlisle and Menaul. They told police they had a woman who wanted to talk to them, saying she feared for her life and was traveling with a murder suspect.
Police say she told them exactly where to find Herron. She said they were staying at the Days Inn about a mile down Menaul. APD says they found Herron there. “They assumed he would be locked inside the room, but he was outside the residence at the time, at the hotel. Fortunately, officers were able to detain him without much of an incident,” said Gallegos.
Herron appeared in court Monday afternoon. There, Judge Renee Torres ruled he would be held on a no-bond hold until being extradited to Texas.
The Albuquerque Police Department says Houston investigators are already in Albuquerque. Herron is facing capital murder charges in Texas. He has no criminal history in New Mexico.
