By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
An Albuquerque man faces three felony charges of aggravated battery after police say he strangled his girlfriend multiple times before barricading himself at a Westside Boulevard storage facility Sunday, triggering a hours-long SWAT standoff that shut down a stretch of the road near the Albuquerque-Rio Rancho border.
Albuquerque police arrested the 43-year-old suspect around 3:50 p.m. at the Cabezon Storage facility at 2801 Westside Blvd. SE, where he works as a manager, according to booking records from the Metropolitan Detention Center. The arrest followed a SWAT response that involved both Albuquerque and Rio Rancho police departments, who set up a perimeter and made public address announcements on scene, court records show.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, the victim told investigators the suspect arrived at her northwest Albuquerque apartment late the night of May 30 and refused to leave after she asked him to. She reported he strangled her three separate times through the night and into the morning of May 31 — once placing his foot on the back of her head with significant pressure while she was pinned to the floor. Officers responding to the scene observed visible injuries to her neck and bruising to her thighs, the complaint states. Paramedics evaluated her at the scene; she declined transport but said she would seek care on her own. The complaint notes the victim has a traumatic brain injury, which she told investigators the suspect was aware of when he placed his foot on her head.
Westside Boulevard between Golf Course Road in Albuquerque and Wellspring Road in Rio Rancho was closed for several hours Sunday afternoon during the standoff.
Domestic violence resources:
- NM Crisis and Access Line: 1-855-662-7474 (24/7)
- Albuquerque’s Heading Home DV shelter referral line: 505-246-9240
- National DV Hotline: 1-800-799-7233