Valencia County Detention Center Most Wanted

Valencia County New Mexico Most Wanted

While looking at the FBI Most Wanted List for New Mexico, you’ll often come upon felons wanted for assaulting a Peace Officer. These may sound more shocking than assaults on other law enforcement officers, but it’s pretty much the same.

Although Peace Officers may not be carrying weapons, these officers, according to New Mexico law are classified as “any employee of a police or sheriff's department that is part of or administered by the state or any political subdivision of the state who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime…”

New Mexico Most Wanted Fugitives

Violations involving weapons are a serious problem in {state). In 2006, Michael Paul Astorga appeared on the Most Wanted List for violating firearms laws. He had been charged with first-degree murder for killing a Sheriff’s Deputy and was wanted for another murder when he was involved in a traffic stop with the Deputy.

Ultimately, Astorga took the stand at a death penalty trial, where he claimed he was innocent. Ultimately, in 2012, he was sentenced to life in prison, as the death penalty was repealed in New Mexico in 2009.

The following are some of the more dangerous Most Wanted individuals in Valencia County, the state of New Mexico and the United States.  If you see them, do not try and apprehend them yourself as they are most likely armed and dangerous. Instead call the Valencia County Sheriff at 505-565-8900.

what to do if you see one of these fugitives

This Valencia County New Mexico Most Wanted List posts the top 50-100 fugitive criminals on the run.

Many, if not most should be considered armed and dangerous. If you come across them, do not attempt to apprehend them yourself.

Instead, immediately call the Valencia County Sheriff's Department at 505-565-8900.

do you recognize any of these most wanted criminals?

This Valencia County New Mexico Most Wanted List posts the top 50-100 fugitive criminals on the run.

This is a very long list and changes daily.

Many, if not most should be considered armed and dangerous. If you come across them, do not attempt to apprehend them yourself.

Instead, immediately call the Valencia County Sheriff's Department at 505-565-8900.

If it is not safe to call right away, make a note where you last saw them, what they were wearing and call as soon as it is safe to do so.

Can you get a reward for turning any of these men or women in?

This Valencia County New Mexico Most Wanted List posts the top 50-100 fugitive criminals on the run.

Often there are rewards for turning a fugitive in. Check each listing for reward information.

Many, if not most should be considered armed and dangerous. If you come across them, do not attempt to apprehend them yourself.

Instead, immediately call the Valencia County Sheriff's Department at 505-565-8900.

If it is not safe to call right away, make a note where you last saw them, what they were wearing and call as soon as it is safe to do so. Make sure you give the police your name so that you can claim a reward if they are caught.

Do not establish eye contact

Fugitives that are on the run are always on the lookout for people who may be eyeing them strangely. Even innocent people, if they appear to be looking at a fugitive too closely or accidentally point their way, may find themselves to be the next victim of a dangerous and frightened criminal hiding from law enforcement.

If you recognize one of these fugitives, contact the local police in Los Lunas or the Valencia County Sheriff at 505-565-8900, but do not stare at them too intently. Be discreet.

will you be called as a witness if you turn in a fugitive?

People who turn in a wanted fugitive, or someone wanted by the police for questioning, may find themselves in an awkward position.  While they may not be called to testify, and it is most likely that the captured person may never know their name, they will forever be in a public record and their name could someday be accidentally disclosed. 

To be safe, unless you really want to receive a reward, and if it is substantial enough to be worth it, it is best to remain anonymous.  You have that right.

Should you turn them in or not?

This Valencia County New Mexico Most Wanted List posts the top 50-100 fugitive criminals on the run.

Many, if not most should be considered armed and dangerous. If you come across them, do not attempt to apprehend them yourself.

Instead, immediately call the Valencia County Sheriff's Department at 505-565-8900.

But should you turn them in?  What if you are wrong and the person you turn in is an innocent look-a-like?

It's always a tough decision. You may be saving savings life, or you could be ruining someone else's. Good luck.

who are the worst of the worst?

Not every fugitive is a dangerous person.

Some may even be innocent of the crime they are being sought for.

But the fact is that if you come across one of the wanted men or women you don't know for sure if they are good or bad, and it is not for you to judge. 

The fact is that it is every American's duty to support law enforcement and their effort to keep your community safe for innocent men, women and children.

If the fugitive is innocent, they will get their day in court. That's all we can hope for.

what is a sex offender?

A convicted sex offender could be a young man who had an affair with a fifteen or sixteen year old girl when he was a young man himself... under twenty years old even.

On the other hand he could be a forty-year old man who violently raped a five year old child, boy or girl.

He could be an old grandfatherly type who innocently, or not so innocently, exposed himself in his car to a woman in a Walmart parking lot.

Or it could be a young female teacher who had a crush on a teenage boy and sent him nude images.

The bottom line is that sex offenders come in all ages, both sexes, and every one has a different story... some that are understandable... others that are disgustingly criminal.

It is not our job to judge.  The law is the law.  If you see one of the convcted sex offenders on this page who are wanted by law enforcement, give the Valencia County Sheriff a call at 505-565-8900.

What is the likelihood a fugitive can remain free and never be caught?

Often times we see Most Wanted listings from 20+ years ago and we wonder how it is that a person who is wanted can get on with his or her life and never get caught. 

In reality, this is usually unlikely.

Humans make mistakes. 

They get lonely being on the run and get in touch with family or friends, or go back to an area where people recognize them. Or, if they are criminals, they make the mistake of getting caught at a new crime.

But then there are those who flee to another country, get a new identity and never get in trouble again.

And then there are those, who because of the dangerous world they live in, end up being killed, their body dumped, and are never heard from again.

What are the methods wanted criminals use to not get caught?

Here are some of the things fugitives do to not get caught:

• Get a fresh identity and stay out of trouble.
• Move to another country wher no one knows them.
• Remove their fingerprints by disfiguring them.
• Have plastic surgery done.
• Undergo a sex change.
• Move to a very rural area and live off the land.

Can you trust a wanted fugitive?

The answer is no. Under no circumstances can you trust a wanted fugitive.

A person on the run from law enforcement is on the run because they fear getting caught and being locked up. Right or wrong, they are selfishly putting their happiness first, and before all else... you included.

If they think that you are a threat to their freedom in any way, then you are a theat to their very existence as a free man or woman.

For that reason, and that reason alone, never trust a wanted person. Stay far, far away from any personal relationship with them.

If someone is on the run for a long time, won't the police eventually forget about them?

The answer is yes, and no.

If a fugitive has been missing for a long time, their case gone cold, the local police may eventually stop looking for them... but these days that doesn't mean anything.

You see, nowadays there is a thing called facial recognition software, and unless a person has gotten substantial surgery, including to their facial bone structure, and even changed their gait (how they stand and walk) there are cameras everywhere tracking them.

It could be years down the road, and a wanted fugitive could be attending a baseball game in a state on the other side of the country... and then BOOM!... Busted!

There are cameras everywhere now... and more are coming... and voice prints, biometric scanners, etc. 

The eyes never sleep. Technology is ever more intrusive.

Is there enough jail and prison space in the United States to hold everyone wanted by law enforcement?

The answer is no. There are only about 2.4 million beds in all of the jails and prisons in the United States, including those in Valencia County Detention Center. On any given day about 1.8 million of them are occupied by the recently arrested, those awaiting trial, and those convicted who are serving terms from 30 days to life.

On the other hand, every city and county in New Mexico, plus all of the others throughout the United States, has individuals wanted for offenses as minor as not paying fines imposed on them... all the way up to mass murder. Estimates are that the number of people with active warrants right now is well over 5 million.

So do the math... imagine how overwhelmed jails and the courts would be if every person wanted by the police were to turn themselves in all at once.

How every person arrested in Valencia County could get out of jail simply by overwhelming the system

There are only 200 beds in the Valencia County Detention Center. Most of the men and women incarcerated here are awaiting trial or waiting for their case to be heard by the Valencia County Court.

It's a fact that the court can only handle a limited number of criminal cases per day, most of these being the initial arraignment, technicalities, continuences, etc. Only a few cases per day are actually resolved with either a plea deal or the culmination of a trial. The fact is that very few cases ever go to trial; each trial can take several days, weeks or even months.  Even after a trial has been resolved, there is still the sentencing phase which can take months to resolve.

Given all this, if every person arrested demanded a full trial, forcing the Prosecutor to investigate and prepare a case against them, choosing a jury and going through the entire process allowed each person under the Constitution, which can take months or even years, the courts would be completely overwhelmed within a few weeks. 

Since every person has the right to a speedy trial, within 90 days according to the law, the courts would have no option but to release everyone arrested except for the most violent of offenders.

Wouldn't that be interesting?

Are there too many criminal laws?

It's gotten to the point in New Mexico that there just may be so many laws... both in Valencia County, in the state and at a federal level that each of us are breaking the law, mostly unintentionally, several times a day.

While the people on this Valencia County Most Wanted page are mostly a danger to the public, imagine how big of a page it would be if every one of us who broke the law were to be placed on it?