Albuquerque police investigate homicide after assault victim dies
Dwayne Burwell died three days after a baseball-bat attack near Smoke Depot on San Pedro SE. Albuquerque police now say the case is being investigated as a homicide.
A 46-year-old man who was beaten near Smoke Depot in Southeast Albuquerque died three days later, turning an early-morning assault at 116 San Pedro SE into a homicide probe. Albuquerque police said Dwayne Burwell suffered life-threatening head injuries after being struck with a baseball bat and later died Sunday, June 14, 2026. No arrest had been announced.
Officers first responded around 5 a.m. Thursday, June 11, after a report of a man battered near the smoke shop just off Central Ave. APD identified the victim as Burwell and said he was taken to a hospital before he died from his injuries. The time gap matters because once a victim dies, investigators move the case from an assault investigation into a fatal-violence case, and APD classifies homicides as non-negligent murders that are pursued by homicide detectives and, if the evidence supports it, sent forward for prosecution.
APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said the death is now being investigated as a homicide, and the investigation remains ongoing. Police have not publicly named a suspect, which leaves witnesses, nearby workers, drivers and anyone with doorbell, security or cellphone video from the Smoke Depot block with a central role in reconstructing what happened before dawn on June 11. People with information can call APD at 505-242-COPS, or Crime Stoppers at 505-843-7867; the department also directs emergency calls to 911.
The Burwell case arrives amid several other violent-death investigations across Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. APD is also investigating a separate homicide in southeast Albuquerque after a welfare check at 1201 Madeira Dr. SE turned up an adult dead, while the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office has been pursuing a west-side homicide tied to a fight near Coors and Arenal. For residents, the pattern underscores how quickly an assault can become a death investigation, and how many neighborhoods remain under active scrutiny by investigators.
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