Clovis man charged again in double homicide

A Clovis man whose double-murder indictment was recently quashed by the state Supreme Court was hit with the same charges Friday in Magistrate Court.

Enrique Deleon is accused of murder in the September 2011 shooting deaths of Joe Valero, 44, and Lupita Casteneda, 25, both of Clovis.

Enrique Delon

Deleon waived his right to a preliminary examination Friday on murder and an assortment of other felony charges stemming from the shooting at a backyard barbecue, according to District Attorney Matt Chandler.

Deleon was originally indicted by a grand jury in 2011. The indictment was tossed out by the Supreme Court on Feb. 27 after defense attorney Kirk Chavez challenged Curry County's grand jury system, which has since been changed by order of District Court Judge Teddy Hartley.

Chandler said Deleon's case will be returned to District Court and he intends to request new trial dates sometime next week.

Deleon faces two charges of first-degree murder, four counts of child abuse and another count of criminal solicitation to tamper with evidence.

Deleon remains jailed in lieu of a $750,000 cash only bond. If convicted on all counts, DeLeon faces as much as two life sentences, plus an additional 15 years in prison.