On Saturday, June 23, 2018, New Mexico State Police uniformed officers in Gallup received a call that a male subject had jumped out of a vehicle and was wounded on Interstate 40 eastbound exit 44. When officers arrived, they discovered Armondo Monroe (38) severely injured laying on the ground. Monroe later died of his injuries at a hospital.

Officers interviewed the female driver who called police, identified as Kelly R. Hardy. Hardy told officers she and Monroe got into an argument during which he allegedly attempted to strangle her while driving, so she exited I-40 at exit 44 where Mr. Monroe allegedly jumped out of the vehicle and she accidentally ran over him. On Sunday, June 24, 2018, an officer with the New Mexico State Police Crash Reconstruction Team (CRU) attended the autopsy of Monroe. The officer was told by the medical investigator that Hardy’s account of what happened was not consistent with the injuries on Monroe’s body and that he was forcibly run over and killed by a vehicle.

On Monday, June 25, 2018, New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau agents travelled to Oklahoma where they seized Hardy’s pick-up truck after obtaining a search warrant. The vehicle was later processed for evidence and transported back to New Mexico. State Police interviewed Hardy and during the interview she confessed to purposely running over and killing Monroe.

The following day a felony arrest warrant was obtained for Hardy and she was subsequently arrested for Voluntary Manslaughter (Homicide) and was booked into the local jail in Oklahoma. Since then, Hardy has been extradited back to McKinley County, NM and is awaiting trial.

The New Mexico State Police would like to thank the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Woodward, Oklahoma Police Department for their assistance with this case.