APD releases details on several homicides
Albuquerque has had seven slayings this year, with only one arrest
Homicide detectives are investigating after a woman was killed near East Central on Monday morning.
Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said that around 6:30 a.m. officers were called to Rhode Island and Chico NE by the Shot Spotter gunshot detection system. The device alerts officers when a shooting occurs in certain areas of the city.
“As officers arrived, they received a second call advising their friend had been shot,” Gallegos wrote in an email. “Responding officers located a female with an apparent gunshot wound. The female subject succumbed to the injuries on scene.”
He said detectives are conducting interviews
and canvassing the neighborhood.
This is the seventh homicide of the year in the city. Only one of the cases has resulted in an arrest.
Also on Monday, Gallegos released updates on the previous investigations: He said:
■ The man who was shot and killed early Saturday at the Motel 6 on Avenida Cesar Chavez SE near Interstate 25 has been identified as 32-year-old Dennis Valdez.
Gallegos said that officers were dispatched overnight to a “shots fired” call and that as they arrived, they received another call that there was a dead man at the motel.
“Officers arrived on the scene and located a male subject with obvious trauma,” Gallegos wrote. “(Albuquerque Fire Rescue) responded and declared the male deceased.”
■ The death of a man who was found in a diversion channel later that day is not being considered a homicide.
Gallegos said the man was found dead in the channel near Lafayette and Delamar NE on Saturday, but the cause of death is undetermined.
“(The Office of the Medical Investigator) will continue with toxicology and other tests to determine a cause of death,” Gallegos wrote. He did not identify the deceased.
■ The woman who was found dead on Rice near Rio Grande NW Sunday night has been identified as 23-year-old Johanna Montoya.
Gallegos said officers were initially dispatched to the scene for a vehicle crash.
■ “As officers arrived on scene, they located a deceased female with obvious signs of trauma,” Gallegos wrote. “It was then determined a homicide callout would be initiated due to the suspicious nature of the scene.”
He did not say whether the woman was inside or outside a vehicle, or how reports of the crash related to the investigation. “Detectives are not releasing additional details at this point,” Gallegos said.