Clovis murder suspect jailed in Oklahoma

A man wanted in connection with a 2021 Clovis homicide has been arrested in Oklahoma City.

Clovis police stated in a news release that David Valdez, wanted for the Oct. 10 shooting death of Ivan Luevano, was arrested Wednesday on the Clovis murder warrant after being “suspected of criminal activity in a small Oklahoma town.”

Records show Luevano, 28, was shot four times in his bedroom at 125 El Camino in Clovis. First responders transported him to Plains Regional Medical Center where he died.

A Crime Stoppers tip led police to believe Valdez was the shooter. The tipster told police Valdez shot someone after the victim “came at his friend,” records show. The friend is identified in court records as Victor Quintanilla who also is charged with murder in the case.

Quintanilla was arrested earlier this year on unrelated firearm charges in Lubbock, Assistant District Attorney Brian Stover told the News. Quintanilla remained in custody this weekend and is expected to return to Clovis to face the murder charge “as soon as they are finished” prosecuting him in Texas, Stover said.

A resident of the house where Luevano was shot told investigators she was home at the time of the incident. She said she peeked through her bedroom door and saw a male in a black hoodie holding a semi automatic handgun and ordering somebody else to grab items from the house. At the scene, the witness told police that two backpacks were missing that Luevano was never without.

Police believe robbery was the motive for the shooting, records show. At least one of the backpacks that belonged to Luevano was found at an apartment in Lubbock where Valdez was staying soon after the shooting, records show.

Valdez was in custody of Oklahoma authorities and was expected to be arraigned on Friday, according to Stover.

Stover said he didn’t know if Valdez plans to fight extradition to New Mexico and wasn’t sure if Valdez has criminal charges pending in Oklahoma.