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Saturday, July 26, 2008
Body Found; 2 Arrested
By Vic Vela
Journal Staff Writer
The search for a Santa Fe man missing since July 16 ended Friday after police found his body in the Santa Fe National Forest and have arrested two people in connection with his death.
John LaBombard, 25, of Albuquerque admitted late Thursday killing Frank Segura and stashing his body near a forest road between Tesuque and Hyde State Park, according to Santa Fe police Capt. Gary Johnson.
Meanwhile, Justin Romero, 26, of Santa Fe is also in custody after he turned himself in to police in Barstow, Calif., after also being sought in connection with Segura's death.
Both LaBombard and Romero have been charged with an open count of murder and tampering with evidence. LaBombard also faces charges of conspiracy and kidnapping.
Police aren't saying how Segura was killed or what murder weapon may have been involved in his killing. Johnson did say that Segura was killed following LaBombard's intervention in a domestic dispute between Segura and a female companion. LaBombard was a mutual friend of the woman and Segura.
"(Segura and the woman) were involved in a domestic dispute, and, at some point, Mr. La Bombard became involved in this," Johnson said.
Romero was present at the time of Segura's death, Johnson said.
The woman lives in the 900 block of Stagecoach Drive, off Bishops Lodge Road, an affluent north-side neighborhood. Police searched her home Thursday after learning that Segura may have been there the night he was last seen alive, July 16.
This wasn't the first time that police had been to that residence in regard to Segura and his female companion. On Nov. 19, police responded to a call from a woman at the residence that Segura was "overdosing" on the psychoactive drug Xanax and "had become verbally combative towards her and was knocking things over through the house," according to a police statement of probable cause.
The night before that incident, the woman — who told police she had been dating Segura for nine months and was letting him stay at her house — said Segura struck her in the face, "threw her over a bed and held a large pocketknife at the back of (the woman's) head, making (her) kneel upon her knees, facing away from him, while he told her something to the effect of, 'I don't want you looking at me when I kill you,'" the statement reads.
Segura was arrested on drug possession and stolen property charges after police found cocaine and marijuana in his backpack and stolen credit cards, according to the statement.
The woman was also arrested on a drug possession charge after police found cocaine in her bathroom.
The most recent incident involving Segura at the Stagecoach Drive address occurred on April 30, when police found almost 40 grams of cocaine in the trunk of a 2006 BMW he was driving.
A bench warrant had been issued for Segura's arrest on June 25 after he failed to show up for a court hearing on charges relating to the Nov. 19 incident.
Segura was last seen July 16 at WilLee's Blues Club, 401 S. Guadalupe.
A sister of Segura's contacted police on Wednesday about her brother's disappearance.
Johnson did not know much about Segura, only that he believed he was unemployed. Several cars were outside Segura's home on Friday, but relatives inside refused comment.
The state Office of the Medical Investigator is expected to perform an autopsy of Segura as early as today in an effort to determine the cause of death.
LaBombard's alleged confession came during a late-night interview Thursday after police arrested him in Santa Fe for outstanding warrants out of Albuquerque. Several law enforcement agencies aided in the surveillance of LaBombard that day, which led to a planned traffic stop in Santa Fe, where he was arrested without incident, Johnson said.
LaBombard is being held at Santa Fe County jail on a $1 million bond, while Romero is being held without bond at a Barstow jail.
While Segura's body was found in the forest, another evidence-scene perimeter was set up by police at the Santa Fe Railyard on Friday afternoon in front of the soon-to-be REI store. Johnson confirmed witness accounts provided to the Journal that police took LaBombard — who was in a jail jumpsuit and shackles — to the scene to "point out key evidence" police hoped to find there. Police were seen digging up concrete on a sidewalk in front of REI that afternoon and were still investigating the scene Friday evening.
Johnson would not comment on what evidence police were looking for or if anything was found.
LaBombard was arrested in Albuquerque in September 2007 on charges that include kidnapping, aggravated battery and robbery. Those charges are still pending.
In 2001, LaBombard pleaded guilty to an aggravated battery charge. He has several DWI arrests.
Romero was arrested in 2003 on drug distribution charges for which he received probation.