One charged in death of Albuquerque city councilor's brother-in-law

A woman has been charged with evidence tampering in the death and disappearance of the brother-in-law of Albuquerque City Councilor Klarissa Peña.

Jaylene Lewark, 39, is facing one count of tampering with evidence in the death of 67-year-old Albert Peña, whose body was found one week after he was reported missing. 

The criminal complaint charging Lewark also named three others who helped dump Peña's body, which was found Jan. 9 in the Sacramento Mountains. The accomplices, according to the complaint filed in Torrance County Magistrate Court, included a man who allegedly told the others he killed Peña and asked for help disposing of the body.

The Journal is not identifying the accomplices because they have not been charged in the case. The Torrance County Sheriff's Office has not detailed any arrests in the case and was unable to be reached Friday. 

Peña's body was discovered in the area of High Rolls, west of Cloudcroft. A cause of death was not specified in court records.

Deputies were first notified Jan. 1 that Peña was missing after his older brother called the Torrance County Sheriff's Office and said nobody had heard from him and that his phone was not working, according to the criminal complaint.

Peña's brother told deputies Albert Peña had last been seen at the Willard Cantina, near Estancia, on Dec. 30 with a man identified as an accomplice of Lewark, the complaint states.

Deputies tried to locate Lewark and the man but were unsuccessful, according to the complaint. 

"It was clear during his time in Mountainair that word had spread quickly that (the man) was one of the last people seen with Albert," the complaint states.

When reached by phone, both Lewark and the man told deputies that they had not been involved in the disappearance and the man said he had not seen Peña since that night at the bar, according to the complaint.

A friend of Peña's reached out to deputies and said Peña and the other man had come to his camper after leaving the bar and were drunk and arguing, according to the complaint. 

On Jan. 5, the Torrance County Sheriff's Office used phone location data to find the last known area of Peña's phone and discovered his abandoned vehicle, the complaint states. Deputies found blood stains on the front passenger seat, along with dried blood under the door.

"The amount of suspected blood inside the vehicle suggested a violent encounter and further supported our concerns of foul play regarding Peña's disappearance," according to the complaint. 

On Jan. 7, the man last seen with Peña was arrested after fleeing from a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer during a traffic stop, the complaint states. The BIA officers searched him and found Peña's credit cards and driver's license. 

Deputies spoke with the man, who told them he had Peña's ID because Peña had given the man his jacket to wear, according to the complaint. The man declined to answer any additional questions and remains in custody at the Lincoln County Detention Center on unrelated charges.

On Jan. 9, the Torrance County Sheriff's Office received a call from the Otero County Sheriff's Office that they discovered a body had been dumped in the Sacramento Mountains, the complaint states. Two people who were believed to have been involved were detained by law enforcement.

Deputies spoke to the two, identified as the brother and sister-in-law of the man who had been last seen with Peña. They told deputies that on Jan. 3 they received a call from the man and he told them "that he was in trouble and that he had just killed someone," according to the complaint.

The two said they met the man and Lewark and the group went to a property belonging to Lewark's, where they saw a man's body in a "doghouse," the complaint states. The pair said the body was moved into their vehicle before they drove to the mountains and disposed of it.

"Later the body was located and confirmed to be Albert Peña," according to the complaint.

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.