Nearly 10 months after an accident killed a New Mexico bicyclist, police say they’ve found his killers. When a car struck him, Scott Dwight Habermehl, 63, was riding his bike to work at Sandia National Laboratory. The accident occurred just before 5 a.m. May 29, 2024. An investigation revealed the driver apparently hit Habermehl intentionally. The juvenile suspects allegedly recorded the incident and posted it to social media. A short time later, an anonymous tipster turned them in to the police.
According to a statement from the Albuquerque Police Department, when Habermehl died, police had a hard time finding his killer. The incident occurred on Moon Street, and Crime Stoppers posted a video from a nearby church, but it took months for a break in the case. In February, police received an anonymous tip about the video of the incident allegedly uploaded to Instagram. Police promptly turned the case over to the homicide division.
The Instagram account was reportedly linked to a separate investigation from June 2024. Police seized cellphones from Johnathan Overbay, 13, and an unnamed 11-year-old. While looking at the phones, police reportedly found footage of Habermehl’s accident. The footage linked Overbay, the 11-year-old, and 15-year-old William Garcia to the case.
According to police, the video “includes audio, captured conversation between the boys as the driver, believed to be Overbay, said he was about to hit the bicyclist and the vehicle appears to accelerate. The back passenger, believed to be Garcia, said not to hit the bicyclist going too fast. ‘Just bump him, brah.’ The driver responded, ‘Like bump him?’ The back passenger repeated, ‘Yeah, just bump him. Go like…15…20.’”
Per police, as the vehicle approached Habermehl, the passenger who police believe was the 11-year-old waved a handgun. He then ducked and laughed as the vehicle struck the bicyclist.
“There were loud sounds, including metal flexing, as the momentum of the crash carried Habermehl and his bicycle on top, and off, the passenger side of the vehicle,” police noted in the release.
Police have arrested Garcia and Overbay and charged them with open murder, conspiracy to commit murder, leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm or death, and unlawful possession of a handgun,” per the release. The 11-year-old is too young to be charged with murder, and police are working with the district attorney to determine charges.
According to his obituary, Habermehl loved the outdoors and being in nature. “All who knew Scott also knew his intensity, his humility, and his love for life. He was dedicated to his family, his colleagues, his many dogs, cats, and horses, and to the environment,” it reads. “He was generous and kind to those he knew as well as those he did not. His wish for all of us was to pursue our passions and make our dreams come true. He will forever be with us in our hearts.”
