SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - One of two brothers accused in a triple homicide in northern New Mexico in 2018 is scheduled to stand trial this week in Rio Arriba County.
Prosecutors said 36-year-old John Powell and his 35-year-old brother Roger Gage allegedly shot and killed two men and a woman near Dixon.
Jury selection in Powell’s trial is scheduled Monday and Tuesday. Trial dates for the case against Gage haven’t been set.
The brothers each were charged with three counts of first-degree murder along with burglary, conspiracy and tampering with evidence.
Killed in the May 2018 shootings were 42-year-old April Browne, 36-year-old Abraham Martinez and 27-year-old Kierin Guillemin.
Authorities believe the murders were drug related.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports court filings state that Powell was a heavy heroin user who did work around Browne’s home where the killings occurred in exchange for heroin and a place to live.
But he moved out or was kicked out prior to the slayings.
Police said a surveillance camera at the home captured video of the shootings and the video has been kept under seal for the past two years.
The New Mexican reports that parts of the video likely will be played for jurors during Powell’s trial.
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