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These numbers do not include officer-involved shootings. There were two. These numbers do include all other justifiable and accidental homicides.
* = denotes Sheriff’s Office case
U = denotes case is unsolved
Homicides: 52 (37 inside City limits)
Unsolved: 15 (6 city cases)
Total County Homicides: 2005 66; 2004 52; 2003, 66; 2002, 64; 2001, 40; 2000 57.
1. Jan. 8 – Jonathon (Jonny) Witt, 18, was shot by his cousin Michael Gosnell, 24, in the 1000 block of Washington SE while the two were cleaning a gun. Gosnell faces an involuntary manslaughter charge. Police say he pointed his legally owned gun at his cousin.
* 2. Jan. 22 – Charges will not be filed against the 14-year-old who reportedly accidentally shot Phillip Garcia, his 17-year-old brother. Police determined that the 14-year-old did not intentionally shoot his brother. Garcia died from a gunshot wound to the head. The shot occurred while he was with his brother and friends at their home on Murchison Avenue SW.
3. Jan. 26 – Johnny Gonzales, 17, was killed and 15-year-old Robert Krogman was jailed after the two teenagers were horse-playing with a machete and gun inside a car in the 2200 block of Wyoming NE. Krogman faces charges of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence
4. Feb. 2 – Nathan Charley, 29, faces charges of an open count of murder and tampering with evidence after a fatal stabbing that left Derrick Platero, 18, dead at a home near Carlisle and Aspen NE. Charley told police he asked Platero to leave the house. Platero did so, but Charley saw a knife in his hand and followed him. The two men wrestled for the weapon, then fell. The knife plunged into Platero’s chest as the two men landed, Hoffman said.
5. Feb. 13 – 17-year-old high school student Steven Montoya is facing a murder charge in the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, Korina Valles, 17, in the 200 block of Virgina SE. Montoya has claimed the shooting was an accident. But, homicide detectives said they are not buying Montoya’s claim because after his girlfriend was shot, he picked up a casing, ran out of the home and hid the gun. Forensic evidence also disproves Montoya’s claim, police said.
* 6. Feb. 15 – Sean Cordova, 19, was stabbed at a North Valley Circle K, 6130 Edith NW. Andrew Mendoza, 17, was arrested. A store video tape captured the stabbing. Police believe the killing was gang-related.
* U 7. Feb. 21 – Frank Galla, 57, was found shot to death in his home in the 2000 block Nancy SW home. No arrests were made. Police believe the killing was drug related
8. Feb. 21 – Maurice and Modelle Mayo, both 82, were found dead in their home in the 2700 block of Vista Grande NW from an apparent murder suicide. Police said the couple had been suffering from serious illness and their health was on the decline. According to police, Mr. Mayo had taken his wheel-chaired wife into the bathroom, shot her in the back of the head and then turned the gun on himself.
9. March 16 – Jeremy Nichols, 20, was arrested in connection with the daeth of his 6-month-old son, Laden. Police were called to Nichols’ home in the 9100 block of Coors NW after the infant was taken to the hospital. An autopsy revealed that the infant died as result of trauma.
* 10. March 22 – Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputy James McGrane Jr., 38, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Tijeras. After a 13-day manhunt, authorities arrested Michael Paul Astorga, 29, in connection with the deputy’s death.
11. April 2 – Eric Devine, 24, shot and killed Clifton Montoya, 25, while the were arguing in the 2300 block of Hollywood NW. Witnesses told police that Devine had shot Montoya several times. Devine was arrested after he turned himself in at the West Side police station.
12. April 8 – Anthony Lizotte, 35, was stabbed to death by Arthur Johnson, 45, following an argument that started at the Tewa Lodge in the 5400 block of Central NE. According to police, Lizotte was recommend knocking on the door of one of the rooms looking to buy crack. Johnson opened the door and started arguing with Lizotte, the argument moved to an alley, where Johnson stabbed Lizotte in the neck, police said.
13. April 16 – Aaron Chavez, 33, was shot to death in the parking lot of Checker Auto Parts, 10300 Central SE following a dispute. Police arrested Lance Tungovia, 17, on a charge of open count of murder. Lloyd Passes, 23, was also arrested. He was charged with conspiracy. Police said the dispute started after Chavez and Tungovia “glared” out each other while driving down Central.
14. April 17 – Police were dispatched to the 600 block of Second NW after witnesses reported hearing gunfire. when they arrived they found Kenneth Triana, 21, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Triana later died at the University of New Mexico Hospital. Israel Herrera, 39, was later charged in connection with the killing.
15. April 20 – Marcus Cortez, 21, was arrested in connection with the death of his four-month-old daughter Jasmine. Police said the infant was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital for irregular breathing. She later died. And investigation revealed that Cortez shook the infant at his home in the 700 block of Shire SW because she wouldn’t stop crying.
* U 16. April 23 – Brian Carrasco, 17, was shot to death at an Allsup’s filling station at 2801 Coors SW. Police were looking for a 1980s model white buick that witnesses saw leaving the scene. No arrests have been made. Police believe the killing was gang related.
U 17. April 28 – Marcos Neito, 43, was found lying on a sidewalk in the 5001 Central NW suffering from head trauma. He was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he died. Police determined that he was struck in the head several times with a blunt object. Witnesses told police they had seen him in the area about four hours earlier and believed he was intoxicated. No arrests have yet to be made.
* 18. May 2 – Mary Ellen Padilla, 70, was found dead with an article of clothing tied around her neck, in a vacant lot west of the apartment complex where she lived at Bridge and Sunset SW. Police said she had been sexually assulted. Two men – Jack Leonard Garcia, 35, and Arturo Alvarado, 31 – have been charged with murder, kidnapping and criminal sexual penetration.
19. May 30 – Genaro Sotelo, 40, was partying with Alejandro Jose Meraz-Gonzalez, 24, in the 2900 block of Arenal SW when the two got into an argument over drugs. Witnesses told police that Meraz-Gonzalez was upset because Sotelo used up all of the drugs and stabbed him more than 30 times and placed his body in a trunk. A warrant has been issued for Marez-Gonzalez’s arrest. Police believe that he is hiding in Mexico.
20. June 4 – While at a party in the 300 block of Dallas SE, Candace Begay, 22, and Rolando Shirley, 28, began arguing. Durring the dispute Misty Nez, 23, stabbed Shirley several times killing him. When police arrived Shirley was found dead in the doorway of an apartment. Nez was arrested on murder charges and Begay was arrested for tampering with evidence
U 21. July 1 – The Office of the Medical Investigator determined that Henry Nieto, 51, who died on October 6, 2005 was the victim of a homicide. Police determined that Nieto was beaten with a blunt object in the 4500 block of Central SW sometime on Sept. 25, 2005, when he had gone to the hospital complaing of injuries he had recieved.
U 22. July 3 – Roy Davidson, 25, was found dead inside his car after the vehivcle hit a utility pole in the 1000 block of Lead SE. Detectives were able to determine that Davidson was last seen earlier that morning at a local hotel. Police believe that Davidson, who had a histroy of selling crack cocaine, was in some sort of an argument prior to his death.
* U 23. July 3 – Francisco Pinuelas, 45, was shot to death at Edith and Placitas Road NE. Daniel Ortiz-Bonilla, 27, has been charged with shooting at a dwelling and tampering with evidence. Fernando Ronquillo, 45, is charged with drug trafficking and tampering with evidence. Police believe drugs were involvedi n the killing. They still consider this case unsolved because no one has been charged with murder.
24. July 4 – While police officer Orlando Camacho, 25, and his father, Kirk Carroll, 49, fought inside their home in the 1700 block of Desert Breeze SW, Camacho’s police-issued gun went off killing Carroll. Camacho told detectives that and his stepfather had been involved in a long standing fued and two started to struggle for his firearm. The case has been turned over to the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office. No charges have been filed.
25. July 7 – Cory Kotrba, 29, shot and killed his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Randi Regensberg, 21, inside his home in the 7700 block of Javelina SW before turning the gun on himself. Regensberg’s family has filed a tourt claim against the police department because it took 5 911 calls and 97 minutes before an officer was dispatchd to a report the Kotrba was holding Regensberg against her will.
26. July 7 – Medical investigators determined that that the suspicious death of Joe Saavedra, 36, was a homicide. Detectives determiend that Saavedra had gotten into a fight with George Lackey, 24 in September 2005 in the 300 block 57th NW. Durring the months that follwed the fight, Saavedra developed medical complications and died as a result. The case has been turned over to the Bernalillo County prosecutor’s office. No charges have been filed.
* U 27. July 15 – Jonathan Guerrero, 22, was shot in a driveway near Stinson and Sage SW. He died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. Whjoever killed Guerrero moved his body to a trailer park in the 6600 block of Sage SW. Police believes drugs was involved.
* U 28. July 16 – Fermin Rodriguez, 21,H 8-11-84 was found dead in a vehicle partially submergd in a ditch near Coors and Powers SW. The vehicle’s lights were on and the pasenger’s-side door was open. Police said Rodriguez had been killed buy a single gunshot. Police have yet to determine a motive.
* U 29. July 19 – Alberto Sandoval, 21, was shot to death at a Giant station at 1897 Coors SW. Police were looking for a purple Dodge Neon in connection with the crime. No arrests have been made. Police believe the shootign was gang related.
30. July 23 – David Abales, 46, was stabbed to death inside a hime in the 6500 block of Montgomery NE. A few minutes after police arrived, the found Ruben Olivas, 27, hiding nearby. Olivas was wearing blood-stained clothes Police determined that an alercation had ensued between the two men durring which Olivas grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Abales. Olivas was charged in connection with the homicide.
31. Aug. 10 – Police found the body of Raymond Lujan, 31, in the 100 block of Ewbank NE. Lujan had been shot several times. Detectives determined that Henry Chavez, 28, approached Lujan and shot him two times with a rifle. Witness told police that after the first shooting, Chavez came back and shot Lujan five more times. Police have yet to be able to detemine a motive. Chavez was arrested weeks later in Las Vegas, Nev.
32. Aug. 14 – Police found the body of Melvin Twitchell, 21, inside a large trash bag stuffed into a dumpster in the 1100 block of Louisiana SE. the body had been there for a couple of weeks. Detectives determiend that Mark McCardell, 36, had lured Twitchell into an apartment and beat him in the head with a blunt object. Police have yet to determine a motive, however, they said there was an on-going dispute between thetwo. McCartell has been charged with an open count of murder.
U 33. Aug. 23 – Jeremy Salazar, 14, was shot and killed durring a drive-by shooting in the 1700 block of Indian School NW. Invetigators detemined that Salazar’s brother, who was involved with gangs, was the intended target of the shooting. No arrests have been made.
U 34. Aug. 25 – Officers were flagged down at Sixth and Central and told that a man, who was later identified as David Galisbo, 19, was shot and taken to the hospital, where he eventually died. Detectives detemined that Galisbo was shot while trying to leave an argument that was occurring between two groups of men.
* U 35. Aug. 31 – Adam Ramirez, 31, was found dead in a ditch in the 2300 block of Foothill Drive SW near Coors. Police determined that Ramirez had been shot to death. They believe the case was gang-related.
36. Sept. 3 – Four men, one of whom was Javier Torres, 23, went to the apartment of Gabriel Contreras in the 900 block of Continental Loop SE, dragged him out and beat him. Durring the beating, Torres dropped a gun. Contreras picked it up and shot him once in the chest killing him. Detectives ruled that the shooting was justified.
* U 37. Sept. 9 – Ernest McCloud, 9-2-45, was found dead in a Bosque ditch near Valley High and Barr SW just west of 2nd Street. Police believe his death was drug-related. The cause of death has not been determined.
38. Sept. 10 – Raymond Green, 34, was shot to death inside a parking garage in the 200 block of First NW. Officers, who were nearby and heard the gunshots, stopped a fleeing vehicle and took John Williams, 25, into custody. Police determined that the two had been arguing at a neaby bar moments before the shooting.
39. Sept. 12 – Christopher Hess, 21, was found dead inside a home in the 2400 block of Alvarado NE. When police found Hess he had several fentynol patches on his back. Police later arrested David Sanchez Jr., 20, on a charge of manslaughter and Amarante Sanchez, 16, on a charge of tampering with evidence. Police determined that Sanchez had stolen the patches from his aunt and placed them on Hess’s back.
40. Sept. 26 – Gregory Greenawalt, 38, was shot inside the Uptown Sports Bar and Grill, 6601 Uptown NE, and later died at the University of New Mexico Hospital. Police determined that Greenwalt had gotten into a confrtoation with Marvin Gomez, 30, while the two were on the dance floor. Gomez got a shotgun from his vehicle went back into the bar and shot Greenwalt. He was charged in connection with the killing.
41. Oct. 12 – Albuquerque boxer Vincente Garcia, 20 was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds inside his car in the 300 block of 62nd St. NW. Police determined that Joseph Cordova, 30, had gotten into an argument with Garcia because Garcia hat hit a woman at a party. Police detemined that Cordova beat Garcia, placed him the vehicle, drove him down the street two blocks and shot him multiple times. Days later, Cordova shot and killed himself while polcie were trying to aprhend him.
U 42. Oct. 17 – Adrian Ortega, 27,, was found dead with his pants down and leaning against a fence in the 1200 block of 11th St NW. Police determined that Ortega was beaten to death and had been at a friend’s house earlier drinking. No arrests have been made.
43. Oct. 28 – Mario Rico, 24, was involved in a fight in which he was beaten with a blunt object in the 4200 block of Diolinda SW. HE was taken to the university of New Mexico Hospital, where he later died. Police determined that two groupds oe people were fighting over a woman. Witnesses told police that durring the altercation, Julian Camunez, 26, beat Rico with an object.
* U 44 – Nov. 22 – Jerome J. Hall, 42, died on the way to the University of New Mexico Hospital after he was found Thanksgiving evening in the 6700 block of Fourth Street, near Osuna, suffering from gunshot wounds. Just six days earlier, a U.S. District Court jury awarded Hall $307,030 in damages in an excessive force case against three Albuquerque Police officers. Motive has yet to be determined.
45. Nov. 25 – Ernest R. Gonzales, 27, was shot dead while breaking into a home in the 700 block of Lamp Post Circle. .
46. Dec. 8 – Officers were dispatvched to a fight in progress in the 8600 block of Jaffa NE and when they arrived they found Christopher Simpson, 25,, severly beaten He was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he died. Police determined that several peopel were drinking in the area and got involved in a fight. Durring the fight Mike Fong Socarro, 19, stabbed Simpson.
* 47. Dec. 14 – Christopher Mack, 23, who familiy members say was a schitophrenic, was shot and killed while he was trykng to break into a home 300 block of La Madera near Sandia Park. The homeowner was never charged.
48. Dec. 15 – Elrick Martinez, 32, was stabbed to death by Leland Bahe, 30. Police were called to the 200 block of Alvarado NE here they found Martinez. He was taken toi the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he died. Police determined that Bahe and Martinez were arguing inside an apartment when Bahe grabbed a knife and stabbed Martinez. Both men had been drinking.
49,50. Dec. 17 – 19-year-old Shericka Hill, who police called a “freelance dancer” was stangled and killed while performing a dance for Lorenzo Montoya, 39, inside the man’s home in the 4000 block of Blake SW. Police believed Montoya lewered Hill to his home and strangled her. Hill’s boyfriend, Fredrick Williams, 18, then shot and killed Montoya after Montoya pulled out a gun. Williams has not been charged.
51. Dec. 22 – Raymond Gabaldon, 40, was shot after he broke into a home in the 600 block of Desert SW. After being shot by the homeowner, Gabaldon stumbled to his car drove off and crashed a short distance later. When police found him Galbaldon was dead.
* 52. Dec. 27 – Israel Garcia, 15, was shot in the head on 4535 Valley Garden Circle SW. Police said he was playing footbal when some men drove up and started firing shots. Police believe iut was grang-related.
