Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officials revealed that they charged three people in connection to a murder that the APD started investigating in January. 

Anjel Varela, 30, was found dead outside of an apartment building in January, KOB 4 reported. Now, the APD is attempting to bring the three individuals responsible to justice. 

The APD accused the three people in question of setting up a drug deal with Varela, with the intent to kill him after they met. 

Bobby Lopez, 27, the alleged shooter, is a confirmed member of the Los Padillas gang, police said. Lopez is in custody and will be charged with murder, robbery, and conspiracy in the killing of Varela, according to KOB 4.

Lopez did not act alone. His accomplice, Brianna Garcia, 23, worked with Lopez to set up the meeting that led to the shooting. Garcia received the same charges as Lopez. She is also a suspect in a series of unrelated shootings at local Walmart stores that occurred this year. 

Garcia's girlfriend, 31-year-old Danielle Cordova, was charged alongside the other two suspects. 

APD Chief Harold Medina said the fact that Garcia was allowed to roam the streets while under investigation for other shootings is evidence that the county needs to be tougher on criminals. 

"I didn’t know it at the time, but Brianna Garcia had already been involved in a robbery that resulted in a murder just days before," Medina told KOB 4. "The attorney general was already searching for her because of her involvement in armed robberies. This is why we need tougher penalties for offenders who use firearms to commit their crimes."