A Rio Rancho man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his wife.
According to a criminal complaint, around 6:42 a.m. on March 25, Rio Rancho Police arrived at 2178 Acapulco Rd. to investigate a possible homicide. The criminal complaint states a 911 call came in from a family member, who reported 45-year-old John Vallejos said that he shot his wife, Roberta Valdez.
Officers arrived at the home and found Vallejos in his truck parked in the driveway. He was taken into custody without incident and a gun was reportedly found in the cab of the vehicle. Inside the home, police found Valdez unresponsive in the master bedroom with a gunshot wound near her left eye. Police said her body was “mostly covered by a blanket and had no other obvious signs of trauma.”
The criminal complaint states that while detained in a patrol unit, Vallejos spoke about Valdez’s family saying, “I’m sorry I took her from them.”
Police said Vallejos told detectives in an interview that he and Valdez were arguing during the early morning hours of March 25 and he admitted to grabbing a gun during the altercation and pointing it at Valdez. According to the report, Vallejos said the gun “went off” and that he “did a bad thing.”
Law enforcement records show Vallejos has been charged with aggravated battery on a household member in the past, but Valdez declined to pursue charges because she said the reporting officer had lied during the alleged incident.
Vallejos was booked into the Sandoval County Detention Center and charged with first-degree murder.