Report: Major crimes down for Clovis

CLOVIS — Major crimes were down significantly but it was still “a very challenging year” for Clovis police, according to the department’s 2018 report issued last week.

Homicides were down from six in 2017 to just one last year, while sex crimes were down from 49 to 33, aggravated assault from 102 to 75 and burglary from 639 to 375 in the same time frame.

From 2017 to 2018 CPD noted “index crime” increases only in motor vehicle theft (from 140 to 149) and larceny / shoplifting / auto burglary (from 813 to 899).

CPD noted less than half as many felony arrests in 2018 as they saw in 2017, down from 487 to 238.

The sole homicide last year in Curry County was resolved early this month, with Juan Leonidas Flores-Espana found by the courts to be incompetent to stand trial for the June 14 shooting death of Mairon Franco Rodriguez at a dairy on State Road 77. Flores-Espana was committed this month to the state’s mental institution in Las Vegas, New Mexico, where he will stay no longer than 15 years and will meanwhile be re-evaluated for competency every two years. Prosecutors told The News they could still pursue murder charges if things change.

Two homicides in Portales also drew CPD’s assistance in the form of the Major Crimes Unit. MCU was activated April 19 regarding the slaying of Erika Zamorano in Portales. An alert for suspect Gerardo Marquez was sent to Clovis after Marquez’s phone was tracked to an area in the north end of the city, following which Portales police ultimately generated an arrest warrant. Marquez, 35, was charged with second-degree murder and awaits a jury trial scheduled for September.

MCU was activated again July 19 regarding the shooting death of Dylan Nutter in Portales. That investigation is ongoing, according to CPD’s report, and Portales police Lt. Chris Williams told The News this week there we “no new developments” on that case.

“The department has had a very challenging year, but has worked diligently in taking care of cases,” CPD Chief Doug Ford wrote at the start of the report. “I want to say ‘Thank you!’ to all the employees for their hard work and dedication to providing ethical and professional policing services to our citizens and community.”