Courtesy of Michael J. Gallegos/Tribune
Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department officers and investigators scour the scene where a deputy was shot and killed.

New Mexico Deputy Shot, Killed At Traffic Stop

Update: Fugitive Is Main Suspect


MAGGIE SHEPARD
Courtesy of The Albuquerque Tribune


TIJERAS, New Mexico-- An Albuquerque man suspected in a 2005 killing is wanted in this morning's shooting death of a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department deputy, Sheriff Darren White said.

The deputy, whose name has not been released, was shot and killed around 12:45 a.m. after pulling over a pickup near the intersection of N.M. 337 and N.M. 333.

"Words cannot describe the heartbreak," White said. "We will not rest until we catch this murderer."

Shortly after the driver pulled onto the shoulder of southbound N.M. 337, residents reported hearing two gunshots and seeing a light-colored pickup heading south into the Manzano Mountains.

White later said deputies believe the truck may have contained two men.

Several hundred officers from at least five law enforcement agencies scoured the area for clues today in a light snowfall.

Around 8:15 a.m., sheriff's detectives got information that led them to suspect Michael Paul Astorga, White said.

"We believe Mr. Astorga is desperate and on the run and very unpredictable," White told reporters.

White described Astorga, 29, as a Hispanic man who stands about 5-foot-11 and weighs 160 pounds, with numerous visible tattoos.

"He is armed and we believe extremely dangerous," White said.

Deputies are at the same time outraged and despondent about the shooting, the sheriff said.

The deputy had been with the department for less than five years. He leaves behind a wife and an extended family, White added.

The deputy had alerted Bernalillo County dispatchers at 12:45 a.m. that he was pulling over a vehicle, and called in a description and its license number.

The driver pulled onto the shoulder of N.M. 337, also known as south N.M. 14, directly across from Canyon Crossroads Animal Hospital and a quarter-mile south of old Route 66.

Why the deputy pulled over the vehicle isn't clear, White said.

But within five minutes after the initial call, residents near the intersection called 911 and reported hearing two gunshots.

They also reported seeing a pickup speeding south into Cedro Canyon.

Backup deputies arrived minutes later, and found the officer on the ground, White said. They attempted to revive the fallen deputy in front of his vehicle, without success, he said.

Based on the slain deputy's original call, a search quickly began for the vehicle, a light-gold 1991 Dodge pickup bearing New Mexico plates with the No. 459 CDS.

Detectives worked through the pre-dawn hours trying to track the vehicle, White said. Through a series of interviews and searches of several homes, they learned the truck had changed hands at least once, he said, and Astorga was the last person known to have it.

It doesn't appear the truck was stolen, but the registered owner and Astorga didn't appear to have any personal connection, White said.

By 9 a.m., White had identified Astorga as the prime suspect and said a search was well under way.

"Make no mistake about it, this is a manhunt," he said.

Astorga, of the 9000 block of San Nicholas Avenue Northwest, is also wanted in the Nov. 5 shooting death of Candy Ray Martinez in the 2300 block of Commercial Street Northeast. A warrant was issued in November for his arrest.

Police say Astorga shot Martinez in a feud over a vehicle. Astorga's family told The Tribune the conflict dated to 1996, when a 1959 El Camino lowrider belonging to Astorga was stolen while he was in prison.

Astorga is on probation after serving six years of an 11-year prison sentence on charges of having and selling drugs, stealing cars and property crimes, according to court records.

In 1996, Astorga and his younger brother, Matthew, were tried in the shooting death of Jose M. Sigala, 27, near Albuquerque High School.

Michael Astorga was acquitted; his brother was found guilty, according to court records. Matthew Astorga spent about five years in prison and was released on probation after pleading guilty during a retrial of the case.

The search for Michael Astorga and possibly one other man ballooned into a regional manhunt during the morning. White said 200 to 250 officers were involved in searches in the East Mountains and Albuquerque.

Members of the Sheriff's Department, Albuquerque Police Department and State Police cruised the Tijeras area and scoured the site for evidence, deputies.

State Police were posted along I-40 near the Tijeras exit this morning and other patrol cars could be scene driving up and down N.M. 337, which was blocked.

By midmorning, the law enforcement officers were joined by the FBI and U.S. Marshal's Service, as well as gang patrol officers and even parole officers, White said.

At least one vehicle was pulled over and its occupants held at gunpoint while officers checked their identities. That occurred around 11:30 a.m. near Edith Boulevard and El Pueblo Road Northeast.

Meanwhile, life in Tijeras came to a virtual standstill for several hours. Schools in the East Mountains were closed for the day. Albuquerque Public Schools spokesman Joe Escobedo said one of the area's school bus contractors was on the wrong side of the roadblock, and the other contractor couldn't reach some students.

White said calling the deputy's family was one of the most difficult things he had ever done.

"It doesn't get any harder than this," he said at the scene. "I'm vacillating between intense anger and sadness."

It was the first time he's had to make such a call since being elected sheriff.

"I hope and pray," White said, "I never have to do this again.

White said the Sheriff's Department has about seven other deputies who regularly work in the department's East Mountains substation. All are distraught, he said.

"It's been the toughest time for all of them," he said.

The killing of a law enforcement officer is among the seven aggravating circumstances necessary to seek the death penalty in New Mexico.

Republished with permission of The Albuquerque Tribune




Courtesy of The Albuquerque Tribune

Suspect Michael Paul Astorga.