Man charged in Roswell homicide
The 25-year-old is also a suspect in another death
Roswell police arrested a man Wednesday who is accused of fatally shooting another man earlier this month in Roswell.
Jeffrey Contreras, 25, is charged with an open count of murder, tampering with evidence and possession of a firearm by a felon in the Feb. 5 death of 57-year-old Anthony Vasquez.
Contreras is also a suspect in the Jan. 22 death of Johnny Pacheco Jr., 26, according to the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities believe Vasquez helped Contreras dispose of Pacheco’s body and, during the investigation, CCSO deputies told detectives that Contreras “may be cleaning up” so there are no witnesses in the case.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Magistrate Court:
Police responded to a shooting around 7:40 a.m. in the 600 block of Missouri and found a woman screaming for help outside an RV. Inside the RV, Vasquez had been shot in the back; he later died at the hospital.
Detectives found multiple bullet holes in the RV, one that went through Vasquez’s pillow, and five 9mm bullet casings outside the RV. A nearby security camera caught a white SUV pulling up before several gunshots are heard and the SUV drives off.
One acquaintance of Contreras told detectives he was the “first person that comes to mind” in Vasquez’s killing due to them being involved in Pacheco’s death. Another said Contreras had told her “he had to finish what he started” and knew where Vasquez slept in the trailer.
On Feb. 15, Contreras and a woman were arrested at the Roswell Inn Motel. The woman told police she had driven Contreras the night of the homicide and, afterward, took him to his cousin’s house in Albuquerque, where he left the gun.
New Mexico State Police searched the cousin’s home in Albuquerque and found a 9mm rifle with a 50-round drum magazine and bullets with a red coating that matched those found at Vasquez’s homicide.
They also found a silencer for the rifle.