Villanueva teen may face adult sanctions in double homicide

Victoria Traxler, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·3 min read

Mar. 20—A 14-year-old boy accused of killing two men in Villanueva could face adult sanctions if he is found guilty of the crimes, New Mexico State Police said.

Enrique Duran-Garcia, arrested last week, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy, intimidation of a witness, larceny and larceny of a firearm, according to a petition filed in the state's 4th Judicial District Court.

The teen is accused of killing his mother's ex-boyfriend, 32-year-old Kevin Gutierrez, and that man's father, Guadalupe Gutierrez, 56, at their home in the San Miguel County community sometime around Feb. 14. He also is suspected of stealing "rare precious metal coins," said state police Lt. Mark Soriano, a spokesman for the agency.

Soriano said the investigation is continuing.

State police have not yet released a possible motive for the crime.

In the meantime, the agency plans to file a motion seeking adult sanctions against Duran-Garcia.

Juveniles younger than 15 can only be charged as youthful offenders in New Mexico, said public defender Stephen Taylor, who has represented high-profile juvenile defendants in the state, such as Nehemiah Griego, who was 15 when he killed several members of his family in Albuquerque in 2013.

If a judge approves the motion for adult sanctions against Duran-Garcia, his case would be moved from Children's Court to adult court. He still would be tried under Children's Court rules for youthful offenders, meaning he would not be placed in an adult detention facility.

Taylor said that if the teen is convicted of first- or second-degree murder, prosecutors seeking adult sanctions will have to prove he is not amenable to treatment programs offered through the state's juvenile justice system.

"Then the defense will have its opportunity to present the positives about the child, to try to show the court that there are services that could be provided to the child, and the child could benefit from those services and be rehabilitated sufficiently before the age of 21," Taylor said.

Guadalupe Gutierrez was stabbed six times and shot four times, while his son was shot five times, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in state District Court.

Officers responded to a call Feb. 14 after a neighbor went to check on the pair and found their bodies, the affidavit says.

Earlier that week, Duran-Garcia and a 15-year-old friend had called Kevin Gutierrez, a former boyfriend of Duran-Garcia's mother, who lives in Las Vegas, N.M. They told him they had run away and were hoping to stay with him at his home in Villanueva, the document said.

During the investigation, the affidavit says, officers learned Duran-Garcia had taken Kevin Gutierrez's black Heckler & Koch pistol and told a friend "they had two bodies on it." The friend told police Duran-Garcia began sending him threats that said he would be killed if he "snitched," according to the affidavit.

Police interviewed Duran-Garcia on March 8, when he told them he had killed Kevin Gutierrez using Gutierrez's 9 mm pistol, the affidavit said. He also alleged his friend had stabbed Guadalupe Gutierrez with a knife and admitted to stealing the gun, along with a black backpack and a coin collection, which he said he had hid at his grandfather's home in Las Vegas, according to the affidavit.

At that point, Duran-Garcia's mother ended the interview and asked for an attorney, the affidavit said.

Police have not yet confirmed specifically when the shooting between Feb. 12 and Feb. 14 occurred or when the father and son died.

Police arrested Duran-Garcia later March 8 in Albuquerque at the residence of an unnamed guardian.

According to the affidavit, a missing persons report was filed for Duran-Garcia in Albuquerque prior to his arrest.

Duran-Garcia is being held at the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center in Albuquerque.

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