Santa Fe police arrests unhoused man accused of killing man with knife

The Santa Fe Police Department arrested a man on Sunday, a day after he allegedly fatally stabbed another man in the city.

Chester Gutierrez, 45, of Santa Fe, is charged with an open count of murder after reportedly fatally stabbing Reynaldo Corado-Medina, 32, of Santa Fe. He is also charged with resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, Santa Fe Police Deputy Chief Ben Valdez said in a news release on Sunday evening.

At around 4:45 p.m. Saturday, the Santa Fe Police Department received a call of a man on the ground near the intersection of Cerrillos and Rodeo roads.

When officers arrived, they found Corado-Medina with “at least one stab wound to the chest,” Valdez said. Officers rendered aid to Corado-Medina before he was taken to a local hospital where he died, according to police.

Witnesses told officers that Gutierrez was last seen walking north on Cerrillos pushing a shopping cart wearing a gray zip-up hoodie with a black shirt underneath and black shorts, Valdez said.

“If you see Mr. Gutierrez, do not approach him as he is considered armed and dangerous, immediately call 911 to contact police,” he said.

At about 2:40 p.m. Sunday, after following leads, Santa Fe detectives found Gutierrez at a homeless shelter at the St. Elizabeth Shelter in the 3800 block of Cerrillos, Valdez said. After the SWAT team conducted a callout, Gutierrez opened the door and refused to follow commands. Officers then fired a non-lethal weapon. Gutierrez was arrested and taken to a local hospital, according to police.

Gutierrez will later be booked into the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center, Valdez said.

Gutierrez has a history of arrests involving violent crimes including May 2024 when he was charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a man during a fight at a Santa Fe bus stop, according to court records. The case was dismissed in August 2025 after the state could not contact the victim, court records state.

A few years earlier, in June 2021, Gutierrez pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after stabbing a woman by a Walgreens off Cerrillos Road and then received a suspended sentence, according to court records.