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RIO RANCHO, N.M. — A 36-year-old former electrician on the Kirtland Air Force Base has been charged in the burial of two teenage boys who were slain late last year and found in shallow graves west of Rio Rancho.

Anthony Loy Aragon of Rio Rancho is charged with two counts of tampering with evidence. He is in jail out of state on unrelated charges.

Court documents say that he was arrested in Las Vegas, Nev., around Jan. 2 for armed robbery with a deadly weapon.

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“The Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office is working with our District Attorney’s Office, and with the other jurisdiction’s District Attorney’s Office, to coordinate extradition of this individual back to New Mexico,” Capt. Allen Mills of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an email.

Family members say 14-year-old Ahmed Lateef, a refugee from Iraq, and 15-year-old Collin Romero had been best friends since middle school. They were last seen in a neighborhood in Albuquerque’s foothills on Dec. 16 and police say they may have been involved in a “drug deal that may have gone bad.”

Shortly thereafter, a Snapchat video surfaced of their being severely beaten and bleeding on a mesa.

For two weeks, family members and friends organized search parties. On Dec. 29, investigators found them buried near 60th and 29th NW, an empty expanse of land to the west of Rio Rancho.

A criminal complaint filed in Sandoval County Magistrate Court suggests that Aragon buried their bodies. It is unclear from the complaint how Aragon knew Ahmed and Collin, or if investigators believe he worked alone.

Also unclear is who deputies believe killed the boys or what the motive was. The investigation is ongoing.

“With the assistance of local, state and federal authorities, Sandoval County investigators continue to work diligently on this case, and are following all credible leads,” Mills wrote.

Mills did not return phone calls requesting more information.

Court documents filed in divorce proceedings say Aragon is unemployed and was arrested for armed robbery in

Las Vegas, Nev., early last month. The documents also say he is a licensed journeyman electrician and had been employed by the Air Force base for the past two years.

Aragon made headlines in September when he was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and other crimes. His ex-wife told police that Aragon and his sister had followed her into a Nob Hill bar and threatened her.

She said Aragon was addicted to methamphetamine. Aragon’s family members could not be reached Friday.