Police: Murder suspect mistakenly released from jail

Clovis police are looking for a suspected killer after he was mistakenly released from a Lea County jail in October.

Police on Friday were called to an apartment complex in the 1000 block of North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard for a domestic disturbance. In the process of looking into that, police said they learned Alex Zapata, 27, may have been in the complex.

Clovis police had learned the day before that Zapata had been mistakenly released from jail in Hobbs. Assistant District Attorney Brett Carter said Clovis police had received an anonymous tip on Thursday that Zapata had been seen around Clovis.

Zapata was not located at the scene of Friday’s disturbance, but the incident prompted police to issue a news release asking for the public’s help in locating the murder suspect.

“We do have a warrant out for his arrest and we are hoping to get him back in custody,” Carter said on Monday.

Zapata is accused of murder in connection with the July 2023 robbery and slaying of Anibal Salguero in the 900 block of West Ninth Street in Clovis. Zapata on July 10, 2023, was booked into the Curry County Adult Detention Center soon after the killing and charged with multiple felonies. He was being held without bond.

Three months later, records show, Zapata – convicted of four felonies since 2016 -- was sent to a state correctional facility to serve time for a parole violation resulting from an unrelated crime.

A state Corrections Department spokesman told KOAT-TV this week that Zapata was released from the Department of Corrections after serving time for the parole violation and sent to Lea County where he also was wanted by authorities.

Carter, the Clovis prosecutor, said a Lea County prosecutor in October agreed to discharge Zapata from his probation, but that should have triggered a return to Clovis to face the 2023 murder charge. Instead, Zapata was released from custody for reasons not immediately clear.

Mark Gallegos, director of the Lea County Detention Center, on Monday confirmed Zapata had been in the Lea County jail. He said he did not know why Zapata had been released instead of sent back to Clovis.

Gallegos became Lea County’s jail director in November after holding the similar position in Curry County since 2015.

Court records show Salguero was in a car with another man when two men in masks demanded money on July 9, 2023. When Salguero refused, one of the men fired a “warning shot” into the car. Salguero then left the vehicle and attempted to grab the gun. “(A)nother shot rang out and that was when Anibal fell to the ground,” records show.

Police said Salguero was dead when they arrived on the scene. Records show police believe one of the masked men was Zapata.

Police believe Cordney Cooper was the other masked man. He also is charged with murder. Online court records show Cooper was in the Curry County jail on Monday without bond.

Friday’s domestic disturbance call was received about 11:20 a.m. After learning Zapata may have been in the apartment complex, police “secured the perimeter,” according to the news release.

“As the occupants failed to cooperate with the domestic violence call and investigation, a search warrant was generated and executed for the apartment. … Zapata was not found within the apartment.”

Police are asking anyone with information about Zapata’s location call them at 575-769-1921. Anonymous tips can be provided to the Curry County Crime Stoppers at 575-763-7000.