Pair charged in man’s kidnapping
Victim had discussed previous charges on tabloid talk show
An Albuquerque man turned to a national tabloid-style talk show to defend himself against child sexual assault accusations last month, but he found a less forgiving audience in the South Valley.
On Tuesday, Nepomoseno Lucero, 40, told Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies that two men he knows as “Bobby” and “Mad Dog” had confronted him about the alleged assault, forced him into an outdoor cellar and threatened him with a sword. He said he escaped by digging a hole through the roof.
Bernard “Mad Dog” Baca, 45, and Bobby Castillo, 40, were arrested and charged with kidnapping, conspiracy and other crimes. Baca is also charged with receiving or transferring a stolen motor vehicle after a car that had been reported stolen was in his yard and he had the keys.
Both men are being held in the county jail.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, Lucero told deputies he and his wife had recently appeared on “The Steve Wilkos Show” — a spin-off of the Jerry Springer show — to discuss accusations that they had used drugs together and that he had molested a young family member. Wilkos frequently brings on guests to talk about topics such as child abuse, infidelity and paternity tests.
The episode featuring the Luceros aired 10 days after Nepomoseno Lucero was charged with criminal sexual contact of a minor in Los Lunas. That case is still pending.
Less than three weeks later, on Tuesday, Lucero said he made a trip to a methadone clinic in Five Points and then returned to
the South Valley house where he and his wife were staying with some other people. That’s where three of the home’s residents, including Castillo and Baca, confronted him about the allegations, according to the complaint.
“Nepomoseno said that Bernard then pulled out a ‘sword’-type edged weapon and forced him into an outdoor cellar area on the property and told him to either kill himself or they would ‘empty a clip’ into him,” a deputy wrote in the complaint. “Nepomoseno said that he was very scared of being hurt with the sword because Bernard was holding it to his neck and he complied with their orders and got into the cellar against his will.”
Lucero said he was trapped in the cellar for several hours until he was able to find a small tool, dig a hole in the cellar’s roof, climb out and run for help. Deputies later found the inside of the cellar door had fresh dents and marks on it as though someone had been striking it to open it from the inside.