ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — The trial is underway for a man accused of shooting and killing an unhoused man, then bragging about it. This is what both sides argued during opening statements on Tuesday morning. They’re two very different takes in Joshua Dickens’ murder trial.
1 killed in shooting involving Albuquerque Police Department; no officers injured
While Dickens admits he shot a man named Eric Purley at a Central and Louisiana bus stop in May 2024, he’s pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and evidence tampering charges. Tuesday, jurors saw surveillance video from the bus stop showing Dickens in blue. Both sides agree – Purley was drunk while sitting at the stop. But prosecutors claim Dickens was the aggressor by not ignoring Purley’s yelling.
“This is not a case that the state believes that the defendant was provoked by a drunk man at the bus stop,” said Prosecutor Daniela Tamarova. “The state doesn’t believe this is also a case where the defendant acted in self-defense, out of any fear.”
Dickens’ lawyers disagree, saying he was outmatched by Purley, and left with no other options. “This case is not, again, a cold calculated murder,” said the defense, Sara Fossum. “This case is about a 19-year-old teenager who is minding his own business when he was attacked by somebody who was bigger, and somebody who was intoxicated, and was armed at the time, and he was defending himself the only way he knew how when faced with deadly force.”…