CCTV appears to show an 11-year-old boy robbing a shop in the days before he was involved in an alleged fatal hit and run in a stolen a car.
Messiah Hayes, now 12, has been charged with first-degree murder, with police alleging that four young boys deliberately mowed down cyclist Scott Habermehl, 63, in May last year.
Video of the crash was filmed from inside the car and spread on social media.
It showed the vehicle swerving into a bike lane in Albuquerque, in New Mexico in the US before hitting Habermehl.
The children can be heard egging on the driver to ‘bump’ the cyclist at 15 to 20 mph.
The video allegedly showed the 11-year-old waving a handgun moments before the crash.
Officers had no leads as to who killed the cyclist until they received an anonymous tip-off about the video in February this year.
Johnathan Overbay, now 13, pleaded guilty in April for being behind the wheel of the car and will stay in juvenile prison until the age of 21.
Elijah Engelking, 16, and William Garcia, 16, are also facing murder charges for their alleged involvement in the killing.
In new video, revealed by NewsNation, 11-year-old Hayes was allegedly part of a ‘smash-and-grab’ at an alcohol store less than two weeks before the bicycle crash.
The CCTV footage shows four boys blasting through the front doors of the shop before running inside.
The youths then proceed to smash alcohol bottles on the floor before running off with some goods.
Before Habermehl’s death, Hayes was also wanted in connection to break-ins at a primary school and two gun crimes, where he allegedly shot and injured someone.
Given the boy’s age, he cannot be charged as an adult.
The area’s attorney, Sam Bregman, said: ‘We know that this individual is connected to at least three other incidents. … It is really sad.
‘It’s a juvenile justice system right now that is really in shambles in New Mexico, and we have to do something about it.’
Speaking at the sentencing of Overbay in May, Habermehl’s wife spoke of loneliness since his death.
She said: ‘They will have to find their forgiveness somewhere else because it won’t come from me.
‘I can’t forgive. I won’t forget and I won’t forgive. I also won’t hate.
‘I am scared to grow older without him. I am incredibly lonely.’
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