Biker gang-related shooting suspects denied bond
A father and son facing felony charges in what Santa Fe police say was a biker gang-related shooting incident last month pleaded not guilty Monday and are being held in jail without bond pending the outcome of their cases.
David Andrew Cordova, 54, and his son, David Ray Cordova, 29, were each indicted on charges of shooting at or from a motor vehicle and shooting at or from a dwelling, as well as conspiracy to commit each of those crimes.
The charges stem from a July 29 incident in which the Cordovas allegedly fired 20 rounds from a truck into a house on Alamosa Drive, just a few blocks from their own home.
Police have said the elder Cordova is a member of the Vagos Motorcycle Club and that a member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club lives in the home the Cordovas fired on.
The elder Cordova told police he had been wounded with a gunshot by someone who lived in the house and that he and his son acted in retaliation. A police report said the two men declined to cooperate further with detectives
and the occupants of the house would not allow police inside to gather evidence.
After his arrest, David Andrew Cordova was taken to the hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound to his arm before being transported to jail. A Santa Fe police captain told
The New Mexican at the time that police ordered a temporary lockdown at the hospital while Cordova was being treated there because the two motorcycle clubs have a history of violent feuding and because a witness told police she was afraid someone might show up at the hospital to try and exact revenge.
The police department also recently stationed a mobile surveillance-camera unit in the neighborhood where the shootings occurred.
Earlier this month, district judges granted requests from prosecutors that the men be held without bond while they await the outcome of their cases. But District Judge T. Glenn Ellington told the elder Cordova on Monday he could seek reconsideration of the no-bond hold, particularly if he is able to find a place to stay away from that neighborhood while his case is pending.
If Cordova does exercise that option, Ellington said, his lawyer should file the new address in a sealed document so there is no risk of others learning Cordova’s new location.
If convicted on the charges, each man faces up to six years in prison and $20,000 in fines.