Police identify second suspect in fatal crash
Pair were involved in a similar case in December
Police have identified the man who was in a stolen van when his accomplice fled from officers and crashed into a car, killing a 14-year-old girl, and injuring her mother and brother last week.
And documents obtained Monday show that the two suspects have gotten into trouble before — just last month, police say, they stole a vehicle that later crashed. It was also fleeing from police.
Police are still looking for the male suspect, whom they identified as Paul Garcia, 24. On Friday, they arrested Elexus Groves, 21, and charged her with felony murder and other charges.
Police say that, on Wednesday, Groves and Garcia stole a contractor’s van, sped away from a traffic stop and crashed into a car, killing Shaylee Boling, and injuring her mother and little brother. The teenager died at the scene on Chelwood Park and Cop-
per NE, while her mother was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital with serious injuries. Her 3-year-old brother’s leg was broken.
Officers investigating the fatal crash say they found one of Garcia’s shoes and his cellphone near the scene. They also found a jacket a few blocks away, with a letter in its pocket from an attorney addressed to Groves — a key clue in identifying the suspects.
Late last month, a deputy with the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office spotted Groves and Garcia pulling up to several mailboxes in the middle of the night in a wealthy subdivision on Vista Montana Loop in Placitas, according to a statement of probable cause filed in Bernalillo Magistrate Court.
While the deputy questioned Garcia, who was outside the car, Groves started the vehicle. The deputy narrowly avoided being struck by the car as she sped away leaving Garcia behind, according to the statement.
The Bernalillo Police Department picked up the chase and was pursuing Groves when she crashed near downtown Bernalillo. The car was discovered to have been stolen from a rental company in Albuquerque, and officers found pieces of mail, purses, credit cards and $2,300 worth of stolen property inside it. Groves was injured in the crash and taken to the hospital.
Both she and Garcia were arrested on charges of receiving or transferring a stolen motor vehicle.
Garcia was also charged with possession of burglary tools, conspiracy and criminal damage to property. And Groves was further charged with resisting or evading arrest, conspiracy and aggravated assault on a peace officer.
They were both released from jail on a $1,000 bond three days later, on Dec. 30.
Less than a month after that — early Wednesday morning — police say the two stole a contractor’s van that was left running in front of an employee’s house.
The van was reported stolen and police quickly spotted it. When they attempted to pull it over, the van sped off and minutes later struck a Ford Taurus driven by Shaylee’s mother, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
After the crash, officers told detectives they had not pursued the van and arrived at the scene after Garcia and Groves took off, jumping fences and running through the neighborhood.
Garcia’s cellphone was found behind a nearby house after a resident reported seeing two people jump the fence and run through his yard.
Soon, police say, the duo found another vehicle to steal — a white Dodge pickup parked in front of a nearby house.
Groves’ jacket was found near that scene. Inside a pocket was a letter from an attorney about the Placitas case.
Police later found the Dodge pickup, still hot to the touch, abandoned a couple of miles away near Menaul and Pennsylvania, according to the complaint. Officers spotted the pair running in the area but were unable to catch them.
Surveillance videos from nearby businesses showed Garcia was missing a shoe and detectives say it resembled a shoe left at the scene of the crash.
Officer Fred Duran, a spokesman with the Albuquerque Police Department, said Groves was arrested after detectives found her at a shopping center near Menaul and Eubank on Friday morning. After Groves’ arrest, she admitted to driving the stolen van, Duran said.
A judge set her bond on Saturday at $100,000 cash only, according to Camille Baca, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Court.
The District Attorney’s Office has asked for the judge to hold Groves without bond under a newly instated constitutional amendment. A judge in the 2nd Judicial District Court will determine the outcome in a future hearing.