Hub City gets 20 to apply for Belen police chief position

BELEN—The city of Belen is looking for a new chief of police, and 20 individuals are interested in filling the position.

Earlier this year, Jose Natividad resigned his position after less than a year of being chief. He had been with the department for 17 years. He took the reins after James Harris also resigned in 2023.

Belen Mayor Robert Noblin appointed Adam Keck as interim chief in April, and opened the position for applications. After receiving 14, Noblin suspended the search, saying at the time if he had decided not to run for reelection or if the election resulted in a new mayor, the new mayor would have the opportunity to appoint a chief of their choosing.

Noblin, who is running unopposed for reelection in November, said he expects to hire “an individual who will be involved in and committed to being a part of our great community. I want this individual to be a positive influencer and leader to the Belen Police Department.”

The mayor said the city is currently in a thorough review of the applications to see which applicants can move forward into the committee interview process.

“I am going to be very specific in this process and honestly, there is not a set timeline,” Noblin said. “If none of these applicants fit what I feel is best for Belen, then we will repeat the process with another round of postings and applications.”

A few familiar names have applied to be the new chief, including Keck, former police chief Scott Conner, and former Rio Communities police chief Felix Nunez.

The entire list includes:

•Scott Baker, of Albuquerque, has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, including as a police officer and detective in Summerside, Prince Edward Island in Canada.

•Walter Cacaj, of New York, N.Y., is currently a diplomatic security officer with the U.S. Department of State. He also has experience as the director of the command center for the U.S. Open, was a senior police advisor with the U.S. Department of State in Turkey, Kosovo, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and was an officer with the New York Police department.

•Scott Conner served as the BPD chief of police from June 2016 to December 2018. He then moved to Mountain Home, Idaho, where he served as police chief for four years. He was also elected sheriff in De Baca County in 2010, and served with the Roswell Police Department.

•Nikita Dia Escobar, of Albuquerque, is currently an investigator with the New Mexico Law Offices of the Public Defender, and was a crime analyst with the Albuquerque Police Department, cybersecurity specialist at the Department of Defense at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.

•Vickie Duran, of Albuquerque, is the special investigations director for the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.

•Daniel Galindo, of Albuquerque, has worked for AOP Security for one year, and retired as a police sergeant from the Los Angeles Police Department.

•Tony Howard, of Athens, Ga. has 32 years of law enforcement experience, including with the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office, Athens-Clarke County Police Department, the Athens-Clarke County Marshal Service and Clarke County Sheriff’s Office.

•Jason Janopoulos, of Albuquerque, is currently a law enforcement consultant with GLS Consulting, and is a test administrator/proctor with Pearson Vue Professional Centers. He was a deputy commander with the Albuquerque Police Department and was a watch commander with the Chicago Police Department.

•Geoffrey Johnson, of Virginia Beach, Va., was chief of police at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla.

•Marshal Katz, of Albuquerque, is currently the chief of police for the city of Albuquerque Aviation Police.

•Adam Keck is the current interim Belen police chief. He has 22 years of experience in law enforcement, and has been with the Belen Police Department for 21 years.

•Craig Monroney, of Corrales, has 20 years as an FBI agent and supervisor, and 10 years as a police officer in Rochester, N.Y., and Durham, N.C.

•LaDon Moten Sr., of Socorro, is a senior investigator with the Seventh Judicial District Attorney’s Office, was a sergeant with the NM Tech Police Department, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Justice, and worked for the N.M. State Police.

•Felix Nunez, of Albuquerque, was most recently the chief of police in Rio Communities. He was also chief in the village of Jemez Springs, worked for the Inspector General’s office of the New Mexico Department of Transportation, and as a police officer with the village of Corrales, and an investigator with the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Sandoval County.

•Owen Pena, of Albuquerque, is a U.S. Air Force veteran, who works for the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office, and previously for the Gallup Police Department, McKinley County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.

•Donald Pezzuto, of New Lenox, Ill., worked for the Chicago Police department for 14 years before leaving to worth for the Illinois Division of Internal Security and Investigation Police until 2002. He’s also worked for the Rockdale Police Department, Joliet Junior College and is currently with the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

•Kenneth Scott, of Mandeville, La., was the director of public safety at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex, director of security at St. Tammany Health Systems in Covington, La.. He was deputy chief for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and was the chief law enforcement for the Federal Reserve Bank in New Orleans.

•Timothy Thornton is currently the chief of police for the Wayland Police Department in Texas. He was also chief of the Wayland Baptist University Police Department, Hatch Police Department, and worked for the Texas A&M University-San Antonio Police Department.

•Johnny Turner, of Cookson, Okla., retired as chief of police and a 25 law enforcement career in Oklahoma. He was also a emergency response driver and security coordinator and instructor for CREOKS Behavioral Health Services.

•Antonio Vargas, of Albuquerque, is currently a commander with the New Mexico Organized Retail Task Force. He also worked as an investigator for the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General, and was a detective for the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.