Man who pleaded guilty to New Mexico double homicide is recaptured after brief escape

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A man awaiting sentencing in a double-homicide case was back in custody Sunday after escaping from a juvenile jail in Albuquerque.

Bernalillo County Sheriff’s officials said 19-year-old Josef Toney escaped Saturday afternoon from the Youth Detention Center and was taken into custody Sunday morning.

Deputies said video surveillance showed Toney opening a gate at the jail facility and running away. A man who lives in the area saw the escape and alerted authorities.

Court records show Toney pleaded guilty last month to two counts of first-degree murder. He was accused of fatally shooting two people at an apartment complex in northeast Albuquerque in January 2021 and wounding a third person.

Toney was arrested nearly 10 months later in Colorado and extradited to New Mexico.

County prosecutors said Toney was set to be sentenced on June 26 and faced up to 51 years in prison.

He’s now facing an additional charge of escape or attempt to escape from jail.

Updated online court documents don’t show if Toney has a lawyer and a call to the county public defender’s office wasn’t immediately returned Sunday.

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