July 5—Mark Delgado Jr., the suspect in a December homicide, was arrested Tuesday after months of evading capture.
Delgado, 30, is accused of shooting dead James Towle, 55, at around 12:30 p.m. on December 30 near the intersection of Rufina Street and Siler Road. Towle’s family said he was traveling from Colorado to Las Vegas, Nevada at the time of his death.
Delgado is charged with first degree murder.
Officers were called to the 4300 block area of Acequia Lane around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday after a resident reported a man walking around bleeding from the face, Santa Fe Police Captain Aaron Ortiz said.
“From what I understood, [Delgado] was looking for someone and a neighbor called because they didn’t know who he was and were worried he was bleeding from his face,” Ortiz said.
He said the police didn’t know who Delgado was looking for.
Delgado told police he had a fight shortly before, which was why he was bleeding. He told police he could not remember the name of the person he had fought with.
Delgado gave police a fake name and date of birth, but Ortiz said an investigation was still ongoing into whether he did it on purpose, given how intoxicated he was at the time of the incident. the arrest.
“It’s not clear if he was doing it intentionally or if he was so drunk he couldn’t figure out his name,” Ortiz said.
Delgado was taken to an area hospital before being taken to the Santa Fe County Jail, Ortiz said.
Detectives interviewed Delgado at the jail on Wednesday. Ortiz said Delgado confessed to shooting Towle, but claimed he didn’t do it intentionally.
“He said he shot in the air and he didn’t want to shoot the person. … He didn’t say if it was to intimidate the victim, but everything he clarified is that he shot in the air and didn’t mean to shoot the person,” Ortiz said.
Michele Towle, the sister of James Towle, said her family were still numb when it came to processing the news of a suspect’s arrest, but added that they were delighted that things were moving in the good direction.
“We couldn’t be more grateful, just for all the hard work everyone has done. … The hardest part is that it doesn’t bring my brother back, but it’s a continuous step towards closing this,” said she declared.
She said she learned the news when a detective working the case contacted her on Tuesday as she celebrated Independence Day in Colorado. After hearing, she ran to her mother’s bedroom and woke her up from a nap to let her know that the man accused of killing her son had finally been arrested.
“I said, ‘Well, [there are] thunderstorms here, so I’m a little disappointed that my 4th of July plans are a little messed up, ”said Michele Towle. “And he said, ‘Well, I don’t think so. “
Delgado’s arrest warrant affidavit from February said the shooting took place near Dave’s Muffler Shop and accused the suspect’s cousin, Jose Delgado, and store owner David Gallegos of falsifying or withholding footage of CCTV and misdirecting police during their initial investigation into the shooting.
Charges against Gallegos were dismissed in March. Jose Delgado is still charged with tampering with evidence, conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence, and harboring or aiding a criminal. However, District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman JoHanna Cox wrote in an email that a plea deal has been offered in her case.
“He gave up [a preliminary hearing] and a general plea has been accepted but he has not signed it and it has not yet been filed in district court,” Cox wrote.
A hearing in the Mark Delgado case is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.