A months-long trail of violence that began with a bank robbery and ended in a fatal shooting has resulted in a life sentence for a New Mexico man.
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – A man released from prison earlier in the year has pleaded guilty to a series of violent crimes, including the killing of an 83-year-old man in a Santa Fe parking lot, bringing a multi-city crime spree to a close with a life sentence in federal court. Zachary Ryan Babitz, 40, accepted a plea agreement that spares him the death penalty while ensuring he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Federal prosecutors said Babitz pleaded guilty to charges including carjacking resulting in death, bank robbery, and carrying a firearm during a crime causing death in connection with the killing of Gordon Wilson. The case was taken over by federal authorities, who had initially considered pursuing capital punishment before reaching the plea deal.
Timeline of a multi-city crime spree
The sequence of events began around 2 p.m. on July 31, 2024, when Babitz, still wearing a GPS ankle monitor, robbed a Wells Fargo bank in Albuquerque. Authorities said he later removed the monitor and traveled to Santa Fe.
On the morning of Aug. 6, 2024, Babitz shot and robbed Wilson in the parking lot of a Best Buy on Zafarano Drive before stealing the victim’s vehicle and fleeing. Two days later, Santa Fe police identified him as the suspect and issued an arrest warrant for murder, robbery, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The violence continued days later. On Aug. 10, Babitz and a woman entered an Arby’s in Las Cruces, where he allegedly pointed a gun at an employee and demanded money. After fleeing, the pair allegedly carjacked another vehicle at gunpoint, crashed it shortly after, and ran from the scene. Babitz was later arrested, while the woman was not immediately located.
Law enforcement later connected Babitz to the earlier Albuquerque bank robbery after locating a vehicle linked to the crime at his residence.
Prior release under scrutiny
Babitz had previously been sentenced in 2019 to 23 years in prison for robbery and receiving or transferring stolen motor vehicles. Court records show a judge suspended all but 10 years of that sentence, and Babitz received credit for time served along with monthly good-time credits. He was released on March 12, 2024, under parole and probation supervision.
“This is a gentleman who never should have been out, he shouldn’t be on the streets right now,” Santa Fe Police Chief Paul Joye said. “He was sentenced to what I understand to be 20 years. He was put on parole, released early. He cut off his ankle monitor and immediately began wreaking havoc.”
Investigators said there was no clear motive in the killing of Wilson, a retired investment and mutual fund manager who later dedicated decades to archaeology work.
“Even though the data shows in most categories of violent crime being down, the cold and calculated manner in which this occurred in broad daylight, in a public place,” Santa Fe Police Capt. Thomas Grundler said. “It shocks the conscience and as such, it causes the citizens to fear a little bit more.”
Wilson was known for his work with a nonprofit archaeology organization and for his long-standing interest in history, which he once described as a lifelong passion rooted in early education.
Zachary Babitz plea deal, Gordon Wilson Santa Fe shooting, New Mexico crime spree 2024, Best Buy parking lot murder, Albuquerque bank robbery suspect