A Farmington man was convicted and sentenced Friday to what the prosecution called “a horrible crime spree.”
The jury deliberated for 40 minutes before finding Andrew Whittenberg, 36, of Farmington guilty in the first-degree murder deaths of his former girlfriend Kelly Heath, 45, and Brent Francis, 23, both of Farmington. Whittenberg also was found guilty of aggravated burglary, larceny of a firearm and tampering with evidence.
In addition to these charges, Gurley ruled that Whittenberg was guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
After the verdict, Whittenberg asked to be sentenced immediately and told the judge, “I think you should give me two consecutive life sentences.”
District Court Judge Curtis Gurley decided to have the sentencing hearing Thursday directly after the verdict, which came after a four-day trial that ended with a nearly two-hour closing argument.
During closing arguments, Special Prosecutor Andrew Reeb said Whittenberg spent 35 minutes in the early morning hours of Oct. 21, 2024, “killing two people, terrorizing a family and hiding the evidence,” said Andrea Reeb, special prosecutor for the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office.
Reeb gave an overview of the testimony from 33 witnesses and 276 articles placed into evidence.
“That’s a lot of information I want to try to tie together for you in this closing argument,” she said, adding the case was about “deliberate choices” made by Whittenberg.
Those choices were to invade the Owens home in the 4900 block of Kayenta Drive, where Whittenberg stole an AR-15 rifle and ammunition, loaded that rifle and walked around the neighborhood firing multiple shots.
During that walk, Whittenberg stopped at a home in the 2900 block of English Road, where he shot and killed Heath. Then, he walked to Ralph W. Miller, a business on Herrera Road, where he shot and killed Francis, a young man arriving at work.
Whittenberg continued his walk, entering an alley off Best Street, where he hid the rifle in some tumbleweeds before he walked to the Sonic on East Main Street, where he was arrested by San Juan County sheriff’s deputies.
“The defendant in this case, Andrew Whittenberg, who is seated right there made a lot of deliberate choices,” Reeb said, as she pointed at Whittenberg.
Defense attorney Marie Legrand Miller claimed the case was weak and that her client’s actions were not “willful and deliberate” because he was high on methamphetamine.
“When someone is addicted to meth, they would do things they wouldn’t normally do,” Legrand Miller said. “I’m not asking you for sympathy for my client. I’m asking you for some consideration for my client.”
She asked again for “consideration” from 11th Judicial District Court Judge Curtis Gurley, who agreed to sentence Whittenberg after the conviction was handed down.
Gurley planned to set a sentencing hearing, but Whittenberg said he wanted to be immediately sentenced.
“I know that no one ever wants to hear about bad childhoods. It so often is an explanation for a lot things,” Legrand Miller said. “I don’t want to embarrass my client, but he had an extremely challenging childhood with his mother in prison and his father not being a good role model. Mr. Whittenberg never really had a chance.”
Family members of both victims asked Judge Gurley for a different type of “consideration” – they wanted him to give Whittenberg the maximum sentence of 76½ years followed by 17 years of parole.
“Andrew Whittenberg, you are a very evil man. You took my son’s life. You took him from me, and my son is never going to come home to me,” said Jennifer Tom, the mother of Francis. “You let us sit through this trial and listen to the horrible thing you did. I couldn’t even see my son, hold him and kiss him. Please judge, give him life.”
Kristianna Heath, the daughter of Kelly Heath, said, “I have to remember my mom longer than I got to be with her. She was brutally ripped from us.”
Kristianna added that a few people were lucky enough to experience her mother’s love. “I know there is a particular person, Andrew, who experienced my mom’s love, and he will never get to experience love like that again in his life.”
Kelly Heath “was a person with a storied history but was loved by everyone who met her. We’ve seen an amazing effort of justice in this court, and we appreciate it,” Jordan Richards, her son-in-law, said as he asked for the maximum sentence.
The court also heard from seven of Francis’ family members, all of whom said he was a an “amazing” young man with a bright future who was taken too soon.
“You took somebody away from this world that was really going to do something. He was really going to make a difference,” said Michael Tsosie, the uncle of Francis.
The family also said that Whittenberg was a “menace” and a “danger” to the community, as they asked for the maximum sentence.
“Within 35 minutes a lot has been done. Think about the possibilities of what else could be done,” said Adriana Stewart, the sister of Francis. Whittenberg “is a danger.”
Judge Gurley sentenced Whittenberg to two consecutive life sentences, which in New Mexico carry a penalty of 30 years in prison followed by a possibility of parole. He then sentenced him to an additional 16½ years, which will run consecutively. The maximum sentence was 76½ years in prison.
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