3 suspects accused of ‘heinous crime’
Most of the details in quadruple shooting being kept secret
A judge on Wednesday ordered that three murder suspects remain behind bars while they await trial for what a prosecutor called a “heinous crime” — a drug-related quadruple shooting in which two men were killed and two seriously wounded last summer.
In an “extraordinary step,” most details of the crime remain under wraps as authorities attempt to keep secret the charging documents and search warrants filed in the case, according to a motion filed Tuesday in 2nd Judicial District Court.
Juan Carlos Saenz-Ponce, 23, and Dan-
iel Chumacero, 24, were found shot to death in a home on General Marshall NE the night of Aug. 8. Two other men, Jorge Hernandez and Jose Hernandez, were taken to a hospital and survived.
Authorities released little information at the time of the shooting. Neighbors, who knew little about what happened in their Northeast Albuquerque neighborhood, were left scared and on edge.
Seven months after the killings, details remain scarce.
But court motions filed Tuesday to deny bail to suspects Eder OrtizParra, 24, Rafael Gonzalez-Parra, 25, and Edwin Edsel Ortiz-Parra, 26, show that the suspects allegedly wanted to kill the four victims over a drug debt.
Prosecutors argued in the motions that all three suspects, who were arrested in targeted SWAT raids Monday, should be kept behind bars.
“Based on the fact that this defendant along with other persons conspired to kill four persons, but was successful in killing two of them, shows a disregard for human life,” one of the motions says. The suspects all travel among Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado, according to the motion.
And the documents shed some light on why most records in the case remain sealed.
“Any witness listed in any of these warrants will likely be placed in grave danger and may be killed based on their participation in identifying the defendant,” the motion says.
It’s unclear when the criminal complaints, search warrants and DNA warrants may be unsealed.
But some information from the sealed criminal complaints was relayed by attorneys and the judge during arguments over bail at a Wednesday afternoon hearing for the three suspects.
The FBI appears to have been closely involved in the case. FBI agents gave local authorities information on the three suspects in November, public defender Tyler McCormick said in court.
Judge Charles Brown, who reviewed the sealed documents, said there were at least three eyewitnesses to the shooting.
“I consider that sufficient evidence for probable cause,” he said.
Edwin Edsel Ortiz-Parra is “one of the triggermen,” according to prosecutor Les Romaine.
Jeff Rein, a public defender for two of the suspects, argued that they are not a danger to the community because they had been free for more than six months after the alleged shooting without committing any known crimes.
“This is not somebody who is causing consistent mayhem in town,” Rein said about one of the defendants, Eder Ortiz-Parra.
The prosecution insisted that the men were dangerous. And Judge Brown agreed, ruling that none of them should be given bail.
“The nature of this crime is extremely violent,” he said.
Rein spoke with reporters after the hearing but didn’t release much information. He wouldn’t say what was in the sealed complaint and he declined to say whether the men are connected to any gangs or cartels.
Jail booking sheets show they are from Sinaloa, Mexico, and are not U.S. citizens. Reached Wednesday afternoon, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman said he wouldn’t be able to find out immediately whether they are in the country legally.
It’s unclear whether any of the suspects are related to one another.