Tucumcari man charged in Friday homicide

A Tucumcari man was charged with first-degree murder after being accused of fatally shooting another resident in the head at a home Friday.

Dead was Bryan Youman, 19, of Tucumcari. Charged was Joshua Braziel, 30, of Tucumcari on counts of first-degree murder and possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). Both are felonies.

The murder count is a first-degree felony that can lead to a life sentence, defined in New Mexico as 30 years before the possibility of parole.

According to a news release Monday morning from New Mexico State Police, Tucumcari Police responded to a shooting report at 1011 S. Jackson St. at 1:10 p.m. Friday. State police subsequently took over the investigation.

Braziel was inside the residents along with Youman and a woman, the release stated.

"Braziel who was in his bedroom at the time, admitted he had smoked methamphetamine earlier in the day before approaching Youman, who was sitting on a recliner couch in the living room," wrote Dusty Francisco, public information officer with the New Mexico State Police.. "Braziel approached Youman with a 9mm Beretta handgun and shot Youman in the head at least once."

Youman was taken by emergency personnel to Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari, where he died of his injuries.

During a search of the home, state police also found several small baggies of methamphetamine, two more handguns and a rifle with a homemade silencer.

Quay County magistrate court issued an arrest warrant for Braziel, and he was taken into custody later that day without incident and booked into the Quay County Detention Center.

According to an online jail log, Braziel still was in custody Monday.