Saturday, February 21, 2004

Four murders reported in county in '03

Robberies down in Belen, assaults decline in LL

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

(Second in a three-part series)

Annual crime statistics indicate Valencia County law enforcement officers were a little busier last year dealing with violent crime than the year before. Crimes such as homicide, assault and battery, rape and robbery increased slightly in some areas while they declined in others.

Last year, there were a total of four homicides in Valencia County — two in the Village of Los Lunas and two in the unincorporated areas of the county. The number of homicides in Los Lunas remained the same last year compared to 2002.

Los Lunas Police Chief Nick Balido said that although homicides are somewhat unpredictable and usually can't be prevented by law enforcement, most of the fatalities stem from domestic violence. Although Los Lunas listed two homicides in its annual crimes statistics, Balido said they stemmed from one incident.

Elias Chavez, 41, was indicted in April on two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of child abuse, aggravated stalking and tampering with evidence. Police say Chavez, who was involved in a domestic dispute with his ex-wife, was charged with allegedly killing his former father-in-law, 71-year-old Paul Artiaga, and his ex-brother-in-law, 29-year-old Jerome "Sonny" Artiaga.

The police chief said that although domestic violence plays a large part in homicides, he has seen a disconcerting trend in today's generation.

"We have a younger generation who feels it's OK to strike another individual," Balido said. "I'm not saying that the older generation didn't do this, but there was less of it. Today, people think that they can solve a problem by hitting each other. It all escalates from that and people find themselves in a situation where they lose complete control and they have to use something to solve it — sometimes with a knife or a gun. And that's where we have some of these homicides occur."

Valencia County Sheriff Richard Perea said that although the number of homicides increased from zero to two last year in the unincorporated areas of the county, he also believes it stems from an increase in domestic violence issues.

Arthur Hill Jelly, 45, of San Clemente was indicted on one count of voluntary manslaughter in May for allegedly beating his step-father, Alvin Scarbrough, to death. Detectives said that Jelly was arrested and charged for using a can of a nutritional supplement to beat his step-father.

In November 2003, Porfidio M. Cordova was indicted on an open count of murder in the fatal stabbing of 44-year-old Jerome Anthony Salazar in Tomé. Police said Salazar was stabbed numerous times with a sword after a dispute over an alleged burglary.

"We're also working on several unsolved homicides dating all the way back to 1998," Perea said. "When you look at the number of homicides last year compared to only four years ago, the numbers have really dropped."

Perea said that there is a perception out there that this is a violent county. He said it's a perception that has been brought on by some of the media.

"It's known that when there is a need for a story, they (news media) can come down to Valencia County and they will pick up a crime story," Perea said. "It's so easy for these television stations to just drive down and find a story."

There were no homicides in Belen and Bosque Farms in 2003 and 2002. Belen Police Chief Mike Chavez said that although there hasn't been a homicide in Belen since 2000, there is little that police can really do to prevent them.

"They are very random and most homicides are a result of heat of the moment situations," Chavez said. "Belen doesn't get the calculated, cold murders where someone is planning on killing someone."

Bosque Farms Acting Police Chief Lt. Joe Stidham said although they had their first homicide in nearly 20 years this year, the village is almost void of violent crimes. He said he believes the number of violent incidents in the village has remained low because of the character of residents who live in Bosque Farms.

"We're primarily a bedroom community, and most people either work in Albuquerque or are retired," he said. "For the most part, it keeps our crime down."

Along with the increasing homicide rate in the county, the sheriff's department also saw a rise in assault and battery cases. In 2002, there were 571 cases reported to the sheriff's department. Last year, the number grew to a total of 611 reports — a 7 percent increase.

Assault is defined as any verbal threat to inflict injury on a person while battery is a physical violence. Perea said that while the statistics show there is a slight increase in assaults and batteries, most can be attributed to domestic violence cases.

"People are more educated now and tend to report more of these types of incidents," he said. "These numbers also coincide with the increased numbers of restraining orders we serve in the county. A lot of the restraining orders are a direct result of the domestic violence reports we receive."

Officers with the Belen police department have also seen a minimal increase in assault and battery. In 2002, there were 190 cases reported compared to 195 last year. Chavez said that although the numbers haven't changed very much in the past two years, it's still down from almost 300 in 2001.

"I think, with all the domestic violence laws, people don't want to go to court," he said. "They know the consequences of their actions and people are being very careful and thinking that it's not worth it. There has been so much more education in the past three years in regards to domestic violence."

Bosque Farms also saw a slight increase in assault and battery cases last year. According to Stidham, there were 22 reported cases in 2002, compared to 24 in 2003.

But unlike the other law enforcement agencies in the county, Stidham recently started keeping separate statistics for domestic violence. In 2003, there were 72 reports of domestic violence in Bosque Farms.

"This is such an unpredictable crime, and we can't tell when someone will do it," he said. "I think, traditionally, law enforcement has known there has been a substantial amount of domestic violence, but it wasn't reported. Now that there is more domestic-violence awareness out there, it tends to be reported more."

While assaults and batteries increased slightly throughout much of the county, Los Lunas was the only municipality that saw a decrease in the number of cases reported. In 2002, there were 386 cases, compared to 248 in 2003 — a 36 percent decrease.

"It's hard to explain why it went down," Balido said. "Maybe reporting these crimes wasn't as important to some people. Los Lunas has grown so much in the past five years, it's a hard one to explain."

Balido said one reason may be that domestic-violence offenders and victims have been successful with domestic-violence education and treatment.

Although Los Lunas has experienced a decrease in assault and batteries, it saw a slight increase in the number of robberies in the village limits last year. There were 10 reported cases of robbery in 2002 compared to 12 in 2003.

"These cases are not just your simple robberies anymore," Balido said. "People, in general, when they commit robberies, study the situation more carefully today. They are more sophisticated. They watch what's being done at banks and how armored cars distribute money. It's not your hit-and-run type of thing anymore — it's a lot more serious today."

The sheriff's department has also seen a slight increase in robberies — from 14 in 2002 to 15 last year. Perea said most of the robberies reported in the county aren't necessarily committed at businesses, but rather on individuals.

"We're seeing that a lot of the cases involve people accosting people and demanding money or other items," Perea said. "Most of those are attributed to personal robberies in parking lots or people just walking down the street."

Both Belen and Bosque Farms saw a decrease in the number of robberies committed last year. In 2002, Belen had 16 robberies, compared to only six cases last year.

Chavez said he is proud of the 63 percent decrease in robberies and attributes the decrease to successful prosecution of known criminals. He said that although officers have been able to make key arrests, he believes the numbers will rise again once those convicted return from prison.

"We try not to tolerate them, even if we get the inkling of someone doing something," Chavez said. But what really plays a part in our statistics is people getting out of jail. Say we send up a certain amount of people for various crimes, and they do their time. But once they're out, our statistics go back up."

Bosque Farms didn't have any burglaries in 2003, unlike the year before when two reported cases were investigated. Stidham said because the village doesn't have the number of businesses the other municipalities do, this type of criminal activity isn't very common.

According to the crime statistics, the sheriff's department registered the largest increase in reported rapes last year. In 2003, there were 24 cases reported, compared to only five in 2002.

Undersheriff William Mar-tinez considered the 38 percent increase a dramatic rise and said most of the cases either involved date rapes or child-molestation cases.

"The biggest reason (for the increase) is due to increased involvement of CYFD (Children, Youth and Families Division) and the reporting procedures they have in place," Martinez said. "These children are getting more educated that it's wrong if someone violates them. They are not afraid of telling their parents or their teachers."

Martinez said that while in some of the cases there just isn't enough evidence, others are found to be very legitimate and are prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.

"It's because young kids are being educated, and if someone bothers them, they report them," he said. "Most of the cases involve family members or close friends."

Los Lunas authorities also saw a slight increase in the number of rapes last year. In 2002, there were nine reported cases of rape compared to 12 in 2003. Balido also said most of the rapes reported in Los Lunas involve children or date rapes.

"We used to say it was forcible rape, but now, it's a different category altogether," he said. "We also have children involved in rape, and a lot of the times, it's people who are related to these victims. And then there are date rapes where very few are reported. Everyone seems to know their offender anymore, unless (there's) the slim chance of kidnapping."

Balido said he believes that rapes are still going unreported because of the humiliation associated with the crime.

Chavez, on the other hand, has seen a slight decrease in the number of rapes in Belen, from 10 in 2002 to nine last year. Chavez also said the most common type of rape deals with guardians or caretakers of children.

"This is not something where the numbers are going up dramatically, it's something that has always been there," he said. "There are so many factors that go into play when dealing with this type of crime."

The number of rapes also declined in Bosque Farms, from two in 2002 to one in 2003.

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