An Española Police Department detective on Friday outlined a sprawling investigation that linked a teenager charged with murder, his co-defendant and other juveniles to the May 31 death of a homeless woman and other acts of violence seemingly targeted at homeless people.

In testimony that lasted nearly two hours, Sgt. Byron Abeyta said investigators had connected Isaiah Maestas and his co-defendant Leon Law — both 15 — to the fatal shooting of 43-year-old Monica Carter through surveillance video, witness interviews and spent shell casings taken from a vehicle registered to Maestas’ father. The casings matched those taken from the homicide scene and a subsequent shooting that left a man paralyzed.

Carter’s body was found on a path behind a strip mall where she reportedly lived with her bo

See Full Page