Five teens indicted in deacon’s slaying

Man was killed while trying to stop the theft of his work vehicle

Five teens accused of running over and killing a deacon as he tried to stop them from stealing his work van have been indicted in District Court on murder and several more charges.

Three more people, adults in their 30s and 40s, also were indicted in the case for their alleged roles in associated crimes, according to indictments filed Tuesday.

Dominic Jiminez, 19, Daniel Sandoval, 19, Xavier Montoya, 19, Lanise Padilla, 15, and Cornelius McCullum, 15, each face at least 11 felony charges, including first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit firstdegree murder, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and tampering with evidence. Jiminez, Montoya and Sandoval each face two additional counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and Sandoval and Jiminez each face an additional count of leaving the scene of an accident.

According to police, Hector Aguirre held on to the van as the teenagers tried to steal it in September. He let go when one of the teens pointed a gun at him, and then the driver of the van put it in reverse and ran over him. Aguirre worked as a carpenter and was a deacon at the San Jose Parish. He died of his injuries in November.

Criminal complaints filed in late November and early December outline a complicated connection between the deacon’s killing and a white Ford F3-50 that Samuel Montoya, 41, Joaquin Montoya, 38, and Julia Lopez, 31, are accused of stealing. Their cases have been joined with the teenagers’ cases.

Police said a witness saw three people hop out of Aguirre’s stolen van and take the F-350. The van was found that evening in Taylor Ranch. Witnesses reported seeing two men and a woman loading the vehicle’s contents into the F-350.

About a week later, Bernalillo police recovered the stolen truck and took into custody two people who were in it. The two told officers that they purchased the truck from Joaquin Montoya at Lopez’s apartment. They said Lopez traded drugs for a hydraulic lift gate attached to the truck, but another person told police that Samuel Montoya agreed to buy the lift for around $200.

Samuel and Joaquin Montoya each face four charges, including receiving or transferring the stolen truck. Lopez faces that charge along with eight others, including trafficking meth, heroin and oxycodone. It’s unclear whether any of the Montoyas are related.