New Mexico teen arrested after killing Uber driver ‘to let off some steam’: report

A deranged New Mexico teenager grinned in his mugshot after he was arrested last week for allegedly killing his Uber driver “to let some steam off” after a stressful day, according to a criminal complaint.

Sheliky Sanchez, 18, was cuffed at his girlfriend’s home in Albuquerque early Thursday morning and charged with murder, armed robbery and tampering with evidence.

The night before, Sanchez had asked his unwitting girlfriend to order him an Uber around 1 a.m. — telling her “his friend has a car for him and he is going to go get it,” according to a complaint obtained by the Albuquerque Journal.

When the Uber suddenly stopped before the ride was completed, the company sent Sanchez’s girlfriend an automated call to make sure everything was alright, she told police.

She reached out to Sanchez, who insisted he was fine.

Around 3 a.m., Uber driver Joseph Andrus was found dead after apparently being shot execution-style on the side of the road.

His car, a black Ford Escape, was nowhere in sight.

Sanchez allegedly stole the Ford after the murder and drove the car to his girlfriend’s house, where it was found by authorities in the morning.

When interviewed by police, Sanchez insisted that he had slept through the whole night. He added that he hadn’t taken an Uber anywhere and was driven around by his friends, according to the complaint.

Sanchez claimed to police that he used cash to buy Andrus’ car from someone else and had no knowledge it belonged to the slain driver, according to the complaint.

As police poked holes in his flimsily alibi, Sanchez allegedly eventually admitted to shooting Sanchez to “let off some steam” in a premeditated plan to “take [his stress] out on anybody he could find,” according to the complaint.

Sanchez allegedly told police he parsed through multiple different rideshare apps before deciding on his victim.

He added that he chose a random drop-off location and ordered Andrus to exit the vehicle upon arrival before allegedly shooting him several times and watching as he bled out on the ground.

“He seemed like a good guy. I don’t really go for good people,” Sanchez told police, adding that Andrus was “really cool and talked to him the entire drive.”

Sanchez added that he “felt bad for [Andrus] a little bit, but just getting that satisfaction out of the way. It’s like a relief. Like taking an in and out breath.”

The teen is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.