Zane Skinner.
Courtesy of Sandoval County.

A 19-year-old Rio Rancho man has been charged in the Dec. 9 murder of his father.

Zane Skinner has been charged with open counts of murder and tampering with evidence, and has been booked into the Sandoval County Detention Center.

“On Saturday, Rio Rancho Police dispatch received a call from a male, identified as Zane Skinner, who made concerning statements about a homicide that occurred at his residence,” according to RRPD Lt. Jacquelyn Reedy.

Upon officers’ arrival at the North Pole Loop address, Michael Skinner, Zane’s father, was found deceased from an apparent gunshot wound.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Magistrate Court, the elder Skinner suffered “two bullets to the cranium,” and  Zane Skinner told arriving  first responders he waited 24 hours to call 911 “because he did not know what to do with the corpse.”

Zane Skinner initially denied having killed his father, whose naked body was found in the bathtub of the master bedroom.

The Skinner home is in the 4200 block of North Pole Loop. Gary Herron photo.

Zane Skinner was detained and taken to RRPD for an interview, where he agreed to provide a statement and admitted to shooting his father. The teen told investigators he woke up about 5 a.m. on Dec. 9, took a .45-caliber handgun from the garage, went to his father’s bedroom, woke him and asked if he abused animals.

Then, Zane Skinner said, he shot his father twice in the head, dragged the body to the bathroom, retrieved a knife and stabbed Michael Skinner’s body at least five times.

According to officers, the bedroom and bathroom looked as if someone had tried to clean them.

No attorney was listed for Zane Skinner in that case.

It’s the second homicide in the city in 2022.

On March 8, 15-year-old Brayden Baldree was charged with murder, tampering with evidence, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer and reckless driving in the murder of his aunt, Carmen Kester, in the 1200 block of Mirador Loop, and a following vehicle pursuit.

 

Zane Skinner arrested in November

Less than four weeks earlier, Zane Skinner was arrested and charged with criminal trespass after he allegedly attempted to break into a neighbor’s home, while the neighbor was home and resisted letting him inside, according to court documents.

Rio Rancho Police officers were dispatched after noon to the 4200 block of North Pole Loop on Nov. 15, when they found Skinner standing near the neighbor’s home, which he admitted he had been trying to enter.

Officers also heard the neighbor’s story, with her refusal to let him inside her home after he said he wanted to look around and asking him to leave before police arrived.

Skinner admitted to smoking marijuana, and the arresting officer noted “abnormal behavior” before fleeing and threatening to attack an officer with his skateboard, raised above his head, according to a criminal complaint filed in Sandoval County Magistrate Court.

When an RRPD sergeant drew his Taser, Skinner relented, then wrapped his arms around the sergeant’s legs, according to the complaint. The sergeant and a fellow officer combined to get handcuffs on him, place him in a police vehicle and transport him to the Sandoval County Detention Center.

In addition to the criminal trespass charge, Skinner was also charged with assault upon a peace officer.