Career law officer hanging up badge

Finally, after 35 years, 100-plus cracked homicide cases and thousands of lives positively impacted, Dan Aguilar has decided to retire from law enforcement. 

A 2002 Officer of the Year while at the Clovis Police Department, Aguilar has been lauded by peers for his commitment and fearlessness: No better example than the seven years he spent working to catch Clovis' Noe Torres and Edward Salas who were involved in the murder of 10-year-old Carlos Perez in 2005. 

"Dan doesn't have any fear other than the fear of God," said Matt Chandler, a former Clovis prosecutor and district judge. "And that was shown every day that he worked for us."

Over the past year, Aguilar, a commander of the Ninth Judicial District Major Crimes Unit, found it increasingly difficult to take calls that took him away from his seven kids and 14 grandkids. Though difficult, he said his first Saturday of retirement solidified why it was the right decision.

"We started at 10 o'clock," Aguilar began, "watching two 4-year-old grandsons play soccer. Then we went straight from there to a flag football game at 11, and then at 2:30 we went to Farwell and watched tackle football games. So it was a full day, and we loved it."

Throughout his career in law enforcement, Aguilar said he attended games and sacrificed sleep to make time for family events. But the "worry" of getting the call that turned him from family man to a member of law enforcement has lingered for the last two decades. 

"Not good, but you have to do it," he said. 

There was a Christmas eve dinner he was forced to leave because of an incident at the Curry County jail. 

"My kids cried," he said. 

Nonetheless, Aguilar's appreciative of his family's acceptance because it allowed him to bring comfort and closure to people like the mother of Carlos Perez, a Clovis youngster who died a day before his 11th birthday after shooters fired nine rounds into his bedroom window in 2005.

"He was so excited for his birthday. He was already setting his outfit out planning what he was going to wear," wept Selena Perez, Carlos' sister, in court in 2015.

According to Chandler, the former Clovis prosecutor, Aguilar was instrumental in the arrests of Edward Salas and Noe Torres who were among the convicted shooters. Torres was on America's Most Wanted for multiple years. 

"It's hard not to reflect on or wonder what you would do or how you would react ... if something like that happened to one of your children," Aguilar said. 

It took roughly seven years, countless trips throughout New Mexico to investigate tips that mostly led to dead ends and hundreds of interviews ... but Torres and Salas were brought to justice, both sentenced to life in prison.

"Dan had followed up through numerous leads to track them down and communicate with the United States marshals, the FBI, the consulates in Mexico," Chandler said. 

"And we were able to get video and photographic imaging of a compound where we believe they were hiding out. And Dan was able to convince law enforcement officials from Mexico, which is not easy to do, to follow through on his leads."

The son of a traveling railroad worker, Aguilar attended five high schools and eventually landed at Clovis High School. As a Wildcat, he hoped his Major League Baseball dreams could turn into reality. Shoulder issues, however, effectively ended his career and he picked up a job at Honetreat Co., which manufactured oil and gas supplies. 

It wasn't until 1990, then a 27-year-old father of four, that he entertained the idea of joining law enforcement. It started with his former baseball coach, Gilbert Salguero, who doubled as a police officer, floating the idea to him. 

Aguilar said he fell in love with the profession on his "very first day" when he'd been a part of a fleet that chased a Clovis man down Seventh Street after the man "abducted his daughter," and shot himself and her. Both survived the ordeal.

"And I got out of the car, and Gilbert Salguero was on that call, and he asked me, 'Is this what you want to do?' And I said, 'Yeah, this is what I want to do,'" Aguilar recalled.

So, from 1990 to 1999, Aguilar worked at Clovis Police Department. He was promoted to detective in 1999 and primarily worked sexual assault crimes, according to a Ninth Judicial District press release announcing his retirement. 

And he continued to rise through the ranks. In 2005, he was selected to work for the Major Crimes Unit when it started and in 2006 became the supervisor of the investigators in 2014. He had been commander of the Major Crimes Unit for the last 10 years. 

Moving forward, Aguilar will take the full-time title of Dad or Grandpa. The kind that can offer words of encouragement after tough losses. And can spend Christmas eve without worrying about leaving his family to serve someone else's. 

"It's been difficult for Dan to give up his second love and passion, but his first love and passion is his family," Chandler said.