Dale Koch, 39, and Angelina Weaver, 28, were both charged with 1st degree murder in connection with the killing of a man who may have “ratted” the couple out about the death of another man in October 2015.
Lawrence Chavez, Jr., 42, was shot and killed in his fathers home – and the father, Chavez, Sr., said Weaver and two men he did not know shot his son four or five times.
“Lawrence remembers his son pleading with the shooter, stating ‘not in front of my dad’ before he was shot,” the detective wrote in the complaint.
Koch and Weaver have since been released and FREE TO GO on the murder charges under NM Bail Reform after the Arnold Foundation’s “Pretrial Risk Assessment” tool determined that they were not a danger to the community or a flight risk and therefore should not be subject to any accountable release – just a “promise” to appear.
* Weaver was released on the murder charge, however, was transferred to Sandoval pending a probation violation hearing in Valencia County *
The release is the result of newly enacted Supreme Court guidelines orchestrated by Chief Justice Daniels that virtually eliminates accountable pretrial release and bail.
New Mexico Bail Reform, Risk Assessments, and Pretrial Services
- ZERO Accountability
- ZERO Deterrent
- ZERO Supervision
- ZERO concern for victims
- ZERO Bail…just a “pinky promise” to return
- Bail Reform – Dangerous, Reckless, and a Taxpayer Burden
RELATED:
Pair charged with murder of suspected ‘rat’
(reported by Albuquerque Journal – Aug 14 2017)
On Saturday, deputies say Angelina Weaver was in tears during a jailhouse phone call with her boyfriend — who was locked up on murder charges — because the couple suspected their friend had ratted them out about the death of a man in October 2015.
But the next day, they say she orchestrated the friend’s death by bringing two men to his South Valley home where they shot and killed him in front of his father.
Detectives arrested Weaver and Dale Koch, 39, Sunday night and charged them with murder, conspiracy and other crimes. Deputies booked the third suspect into jail on unrelated felony warrants but are not releasing his name while they investigate his involvement, said Felicia Maggard, a spokeswoman for the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.
Maggard said deputies were called around 8 a.m. Sunday to a house on the 1700 block of Potomac SW, near Interstate 25 and Isleta SW, by a man who said his son, 42-year-old Lawrence Chavez Jr., had been shot and killed.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, Lawrence Chavez Sr. told deputies Weaver, whom he knows as his son’s friend, and two men he did not know, shot his son four or five times.
Chavez Sr. also told detectives Weaver said she had a court hearing coming up and could be spending 25 years in prison. It is unclear what she was referring to.
“Lawrence remembers his son pleading with the shooter, stating ‘not in front of my dad’ before he was shot,” the detective wrote in the complaint.
She had faced charges of tampering with evidence in connection to a 2015 homicide and with possession of a controlled substance in 2017 but both cases were dismissed, according to online court records.
Detectives say Chavez Jr. and Weaver had been involved in the killing of Domitrique Shepard in Valencia County in 2015, and Weaver’s boyfriend, Adrian Maestas, 24, is a suspect in the case.
Maestas was indicted in April on several charges, including murder and tampering with evidence, for Shepard’s death and for destroying or hiding his body and car.
It’s unclear if authorities believe other people were involved in Shepard’s death but detectives say jail phone calls show Weaver was upset that Chavez Jr. might have pointed the finger at her and Maestas.
They say Weaver can be heard crying and saying “This is all a shock to me…I thought he was one of us.”
Weaver and Koch were arrested Sunday. According to the complaint, deputies identified Koch as Weaver’s friend on Facebook and Chavez Sr. said he resembled the man who shot his son.
Detectives spotted Koch at a gas station on Central near Eubank NE around 7:30 p.m. and arrested him after a pursuit.
You’ve been LIED to New Mexico…NM Bail Reform is RECKLESS, DANGEROUS, and YOU are PAYING for it.
Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
https://www.usbailreform.com/new-mexico-chief-justice-charles-daniels-judge-politician-class-action-federal-complaint-supreme-court-filed-bipartisan-legislators-may-answer/