Santa Fe Police arrest Raton man in fatal stabbing on Siler Road, city's first homicide of 2026

SANTA FE  — Local police arrested and charged 39-year-old Luis Arturo Lugo Ortega in the fatal stabbing of another man near the intersection of Siler Road and Industrial Road early Thursday morning during a confrontation over a burglarized vehicle.

Ortega, a Raton resident, faces charges of homicide and other counts accusing him of killing 39-year-old Charles A. Valdez, also of Raton. The case had not been filed in online court records as of press time Thursday evening.

Investigators identified Ortega as the suspect after locating him and several witnesses along Siler Road, a portion of which was temporarily closed on Thursday as specialists processed "several crime scenes" within a wide perimeter. The road closure extended from Agua Fria Street to Industrial Road and from Siler Road to Clark Road but had been lifted by Thursday afternoon.

Ortega and the witnesses were transported to Santa Fe Police Department, where detectives interviewed them and learned Ortega had been asleep inside a vehicle on Industrial Road when he heard a vehicle alarm nearby and confronted Valdez, suspecting he was breaking into the vehicle.

A brief "physical altercation" ensued, according to witnesses, who said Valdez then fled on foot. Ortega then reportedly returned to the burglarized vehicle and drove it to the 1100 block of Siler Road, where he again found Valdez and engaged him in a second altercation, allegedly stabbing him in the side of his torso with a knife.

Valdez was transported to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, where a puncture wound was identified in his torse below his left arm. Despite life-saving efforts, the 39-year-old died at the hospital.

Police say the investigation into the stabbing remained ongoing as of Thursday evening. Investigators are following up on information regarding the location of the knife used in the incident.

The homicide is the first to be logged in 2026 in the City Different, which saw eight in 2025 and five in 2024, according to data Santa Fe Police Department provided to the Journal this month.

John Miller is the Albuquerque Journal’s northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.