Cops and Courts — Week recognizes crime victims’ rights

The city commissions of Clovis and Portales and county commissions of Roosevelt and Curry counties have all issued proclamations recognizing April 18-24 as National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, and the district attorney for the 9th Judicial District covering those two counties is sponsoring two special meetings on Monday to address crime issues.

The Roosevelt County meeting will be at 10 a.m. and the Curry County meeting will be at noon. Both meetings will be on the south side lawns of their respective county courthouses.

According to District Attorney Brett Carter, the informal gatherings are expected to last 30 minutes to one hour. Law enforcement officials and advocates of victims will speak about their roles involving victims’ rights issues. Carter said all are invited and the meetings may be of specific interest to crime victims, law enforcement officials, elected officials, victim advocates and victim service providers.

For further information, contact Leah Schoeffel of the 9th Judicial District victim impact program at 769-2246.

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Santiago Calbert, 19, of Clovis, was arraigned Tuesday in Curry County District Court on a charge of first-degree murder, which means the state must prove he acted willfully and deliberately. According to 9th Judicial District Attorney Brett Carter, Calbert pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Curry County Adult Detention Center officials said he was transferred to the Parmer County Jail and is being held in lieu of a $100,000 cash-only bond. Court records show Calbert does not yet have an attorney.

Carter said Calbert is one of three men accused in the Jan. 4 death of Carlos Murillo and indicted by a grand jury on March 19. No jury trial has yet been scheduled, according to Carter.

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Clovis police released a report Wednesday showing that following an April 2 police chase through city streets, officers arrested two males who had been in the car fleeing police. One of the men said they were assisting relatives in moving back to California following the homicide of a relative, Carlos Murillo.

Officers called a Clovis resident to the county jail to identify the men. The resident positively identified the vehicle, gave a clothing description matching one of the two men, and said the front passenger had pointed a black handgun out the window toward him. Police arrested the men on numerous charges including aggravated assault, felon in possession of a firearm, and harboring or aiding a felon.

According to the incident narrative, the men strongly objected to being arrested. One of them asked police, “instead of chasing me, how come you aren’t out there catching those ... that shot my cousin?”

Cops and Courts is compiled by CNJ staff writer Darrell Todd Maurina. He can be contacted at 763-6991 or:

darrell_maurina@

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