Described as a prolific hunter by neighbors in the rural town of Chimayo, Ricky Abeyta, 29, shot and killed two police officers, his girlfriend Ignacita Sandoval, 36, her 19-year-old daughter Maryellen, Maryellen's 6-month-old son, the baby's father and another woman on January 26, 1991. Ignacita's 13-year-old son suffered a non-fatal gunshot wound.

The two police shot by Abeyta had arrived to serve him a restraining order requested by Ignacita, who by then had already been killed. After committing the murders, Abeyta fled into the hills, prompting police to mount a foot and helicopter search for the armed killer. After his capture, Abeyta was convicted of the murders and sentenced to 146 years in prison.

N.M. man gets 146 years in prison for slaing 7

DeseretNews.com

December 21, 1991

A construction worker who went on a shooting rampage when his girl-friend moved out, killing her and six others, including two police officers, was sentenced Friday to 146 years in prison.

Ricky Abeyta, 29, who testified in his own defense at his trial, called the Jan. 26. shootings either self-defense or accidental. It was the state's largest mass slaying.

Trouble began when Abeyta came home to find his girfriend moving her things out of the mobile home they shared in Chimayo, 100 miles north of Albuquerque. She and relatives were slain, including a 6-month-old baby. Two law officers were killed upon arrival at the scene.

Abeyta testified he didn't know how the baby or his mother were slain.

"Help us keep this bloodthirsty, vicious murderer behind bars," said Bonifacio Vasquez, brother of two victims.

Abeyta was convicted of killing his girlfriend, Ignacita Sandoval, 36; her sister, Cheryl Rendon, 25; her daughter, Maryellen Sandoval, 19; Maryellen's boyfriend, Macario Gonzales, 21; and Maryellen's 6-month-old son, Justin.

He also was found guilty of killing State Police Officer Glen Huber, 35, and Deputy Sheriff Jerry Martinez, 30.

Suspect in Slayings of 7 in New Mexico Could Face Death

Ricky Abeyta is arraigned on three counts of murder. More charges are expected to be filed this week.

By Paul Feldman - Los Angeles Times

January 28, 1991

ESPANOLA, N.M. — Ricky Abeyta, believed by authorities to be responsible for the worst mass slaying in modern New Mexico history, was arraigned before a Rio Arriba County magistrate Monday on three murder counts that could result in the death penalty.

Prosecutors said additional murder charges are expected to be filed this week stemming from Saturday's massacre of seven people, including two law enforcement officers and a 5-month-old boy.

Court papers released Monday appeared to confirm authorities' initial contention that the bloody rampage was the culmination of a domestic dispute.

According to the documents, one of Abeyta's alleged victims--an estranged girlfriend--had days earlier won a court order to keep him from bothering her. She had told a judge that he had shot at her.

Also arraigned Monday on lesser felony charges stemming from the massacre were two of Abeyta's sisters, Dora, 35, and Sandra, 19. Dora was charged with attempted murder. Sandra was charged with aggravated battery.

Abeyta, 28, a self-employed carpenter from nearby Chimayo, appeared somber as Magistrate Richard C. Martinez ordered him to be held without bail and urged Abeyta "to reflect on the lives" lost.

"It saddens me, yet it also sickens me when domestic violence . . . results in such violent acts which eventually take the lives of human beings, especially those of innocent children," Martinez said.

The mustachioed Abeyta was charged with the shooting deaths of Ignacita Vasquez Sandoval, 36, his estranged girlfriend; Sheriff's Deputy Jerry Martinez, 30, who had been in the process of delivering the temporary restraining order that Sandoval had obtained, and State Police Sgt. Glen Huber, 35, who had been called in to assist Martinez.

Also killed in the late-afternoon attack at the Abeyta family property were Sandoval's daughter, Maryellen, 19; Maryellen's boyfriend, Macario Gonzales, 18; their 5-month-old son, Justin Gonzales, and Sandoval's sister, Cheryl Rendon, 24.

Sandoval's son, Eloy, 13, was wounded, and several others who were inside the couple's mobile home during the attack jumped outside to escape.

In appealing for a restraining order to keep Abeyta away from her, Sandoval alleged that the defendant had fired three gunshots toward her and her car last Wednesday. She told domestic violence hearing officer Carol J. Vigil that Abeyta had become angry when she told him he was moving out of their home, according to court records.

After a 24-hour manhunt, Abeyta surprised authorities by turning himself in to state police at Albuquerque late Sunday. Police said Abeyta, who was not represented by an attorney in court Monday, made no statements to them about the case

Abeyta's brother-in-law, Manuel Sanchez, who accompanied the defendant to state police headquarters, said Abeyta had told him nothing.

"He just knocked on my door (in Bernalillo, a town near Albuquerque) . . . and just said he wanted to surrender," Sanchez said.

The rampage has left New Mexico reeling.

"This has to have lasting impact," said state Secretary of Public Safety Richard C de Baca. "We made history . . . it's a bitter pill to swallow."

Community mental health official Barbara Martinez said: "Before this happened was the (Persian Gulf) war. Since the shootings I haven't heard a thing about the war, and that tells me something. People already are under a lot of stress, and this is something else for them to endure."

Chimayo is a small, clannish town in the rugged Sangre de Cristo foothills, 20 miles north of Santa Fe. It had been known primarily for its 175-year-old El Santuario de Chimayo church, where thousands of Catholic faithful come each year to pray and be healed.

Dirt in a hole in the church floor has been said for more than a century to possess miraculous curative powers.

The town of 2,500 is also known for the red chili peppers grown by its farmers.

Abeyta was said by authorities to possess a temper. In the past, state police said, he had been arrested--but never convicted--on a variety of charges, including aggravated assault, harassment by telephone and larceny.

Tearful family members, 20 of whom attended the late-afternoon arraignment, called Abeyta a quiet, even-tempered man.

"I'm still in shock. I can't believe it," said Sanchez, his brother-in-law. "When you get upset, you don't realize what you're doing. . . . He was probably provoked."

William Diven in Chimayo, N.M., contributed to this story.

7 Shot to Death in New Mexico; After Search, Suspect Is in Custody

The New York Times

January 28, 1991

A policeman, a sheriff's deputy and five other people, including a 6-month-old baby, were shot to death near this rural village Saturday, and the police announced late tonight that a suspect was in custody.

The police said the suspect, Ricky Abeyta, caught the two lawmen by surprise while they were trying to serve a restraining order on Mr. Abeyta at the request of his girlfriend, who was slain.

Officials released no details about the arrest of Mr. Abeyta, 29 years old, who was described as a skilled hunter by neighbors and acquaintances in a sparsely populated neighborhood near Chimayo, about 100 miles north of Albuquerque.

The authorities had called off a foot and helicopter search of the surrounding mountains at nightfall. 'It's Pretty Scary Now'

Maj. John Denko of the state police said all seven victims were shot to death after a domestic dispute that the officers may have interrupted.

Sgt. David Osuna of the state police said earlier in the day that investigators were looking into the possibility that Mr. Abeyta was not responsible for all the shootings at his home.

The massacre apparently began Saturday afternoon, about the time Officer Glen Huber of the state police and Deputy Jerry Martinez of the Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Department arrived at the house.

"Evidently, the situation became volatile before they got there," Major Denko said. "They were caught by surprise, totally off guard."

Officer Huber was shot in the head through the window of his car, and Deputy Martinez was shot in another car, Major Denko said. A Young Survivor

Major Osuna identified the dead as the suspect's girlfriend, Ignacita R. Sandoval, 36, of Penasco; her daughter, Maryellen F. Sandoval, 19, also of Penasco; Maryellen Sandoval's 6-month-old son, Justin Gonzales; Justin's father, Macario Gonzales, 19, of Alcalde; and Cheryl Rendon, 25, of Dixon, whose relationship to the others was not known.

Eloy Sandoval, 13, a son of Ignacita, was wounded and was in serious but stable condition today at University Hospital in Albuquerque.

It was unclear how many were dead by the time the two officers arrived.

The first two bodies, those of the baby and one woman, were found just outside the front door of the house, Major Denko said. The man's body was found in a parked U-Haul truck in front of the house, the major said.

About 30 officers surrounded Mr. Abeyta's home, believing he was still inside. When they stormed it several hours later, they found the bodies of two women.

Mr. Abeyta's pickup truck was found abandoned today near Chimayo, Major Denko said.

Chimayo, NM: Looking Back at the Chimayó Massacre

20 years later, officers, Chimayó residents reflect on infamous Abeyta killings

By Lou Mattei - SUN News Editor

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Exactly 20 years ago Wednesday (1/26), Chimayó witnessed one of the deadliest days in modern Rio Arriba County history when then-29-year-old Ricky Abeyta shot and killed seven people, including two law enforcement officers and a 5-month-old baby.

The passing of two decades has done little to dim the memory, or the significance, of that day for many of those involved.

Court records and previous SUN reports tell the following story of the killings:

On Jan. 26, 1991, Abeyta’s girlfriend Ignacita Vasquez Sandoval and several of her relatives went to the Chimayó trailer that she and Abeyta had once shared and began moving her things into a U-Haul trailer and three vehicles parked outside. Abeyta arrived and shot his girlfriend in the head while she was kneeling, as if in prayer, then shot her son Eloy Sandoval, who survived.

Meanwhile, Ignacita’s daughter, Maryellen, grabbed her 5-month-old baby and tried to flee. Both were found shot dead, as was Ignacita’s sister, Cheryl Rendon.

Macario “Mickey” Gonzales, Maryellen’s boyfriend and the father of the 5-month-old, had been dropping off a load of Ignacita’s belongings in the U-Haul. He was found in the truck shot in the spine.

Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputy Jerry Martinez arrived at the Abeyta home at about 4:30 p.m. to try to serve a restraining order on Abeyta that Ignacita Sandoval had filed just three days earlier. Abeyta shot him twice in the head.

State Police officer Glen Huber, nearby on an unrelated stolen vehicle case, heard the gunfire and drove to the trailer. He was found shot in the head still seated in his police car with one leg out the door.

State Police Sgt. Chris Valdez, then a patrolman who had been on the force for about two years, said he was finishing up a shift when he got a call of shots fired in Chimayó. Valdez said he’d transferred to the State Police office in Española from the office in Dulce just two or three weeks earlier.

“I got the call, and I knew Jerry (Martinez) and Glen (Huber) were out there, but I had no idea they’d been shot,” Valdez said. “I showed up there and this kid (Eloy Sandoval) came running toward me with a gunshot wound in his chest. I grabbed a sleeping bag I had in my car and wrapped him up. He was freezing cold.”

Valdez said Eloy Sandoval told him the two officers had been shot.

“The first thing I see was this young kid with his chest bleeding,” Valdez said. “It was sort of like chaos. I was calling to Glen (Huber) to tell me where to go, and we didn’t know if Ricky (Abeyta) was still in the house.”

County Magistrate Court Judge Joe Madrid, then a State Police officer, said he, like Valdez, was basically at the end of his shift that day before the shootings. He said State Police got a call from Martinez to assist in the stolen vehicle report. Madrid said he, Huber and another officer responded to the call, then Huber asked Madrid if he would be OK on his own, so that Huber could go check on Martinez, who had left to serve papers on Ricky Abeyta. Madrid said that was fine and said he didn’t know anything was wrong until he heard Valdez’s cruiser zoom by.

“That’s the last time I saw (Huber) alive,” Madrid said. “It was a rough deal, bro. It was awful.”

For nearly 24 hours, as many as 60 police officers searched the area for Abeyta, who turned himself in at the State Police office in Albuquerque around 10 p.m. the following day, according to previous SUN reports.

Valdez said he’s still haunted by the sight of the dead 5-month-old, who was found shot through the head underneath a Chevrolet truck.

“They prepare you in the (state Law Enforcement Training) Academy to see one of your own dead,” Valdez said. “They tell you, ‘You’re going to see a New Mexico State Police officer dead,’ and so you learn to deal with that. But not a 5-month-old baby.”

For Valdez, the massacre remains an important reminder of the extremes to which domestic violence incidents can build.

“Domestic violence escalates,” Valdez said. “Studies show that once violence happens in a relationship, it just escalates and gets worse, and it becomes a vicious cycle, especially when kids are involved. This senseless killing was brought on by domestic violence.”

State Sen. Richard Martinez (D-Española), who at that time was the magistrate judge who arraigned Abeyta and his two sisters when they initially faced charges related to the massacre, also pointed to domestic violence as the root cause.

“These are the types of situations that arise from domestic violence, the types of situations that happen when people get to arguing over petty things such as furniture and personal effects,” Richard Martinez said. “It’s just unfortunate. Somebody just loses it, and it becomes a big old tragedy.”

Valdez said there’s little in police policy or procedure that could have changed to prevent the officers’ deaths.

“They were both ambushed,” Valdez said. “That happens every day, officers are in volatile situations. Statistics show officers are killed more often at a domestic violence call. The parties are already angry by the time they show up.”

Madrid, who is also the godfather of Huber’s daughter, said he learned an existential lesson from the harrowing event.

“The lesson I learned most was after you go to work, it’s like a basketball player — you better have the right mentality and have your game face on because there’s a chance you might not come home,” Madrid said.

In the wake of the Jan. 8 Tuscon, Ariz., shooting that claimed eight lives and wounded 14, the killings remain for some a disturbing reminder of man’s capacity for violence.

“I hadn’t thought about it in a while until that happened in Tuscon a couple of weeks ago,” said Robert Ortega, owner of Ortega’s Weaving in Chimayó.

Ortega said what he remembers most is watching police flood the quiet town.

“I was standing right here watching all the cop cars go by,” Ortega said standing in his store. “I’m used to the silver Santa Fe (County Sheriff’s Department) cars, the gold Rio Arriba (County Sheriff’s Department) cars, and the black and white staters. But there were all these police cars from other districts.”

Information about the shootings came slowly, Ortega said.

“I didn’t really know what was happening,” he said. “I remember throughout the night we were getting bits and pieces of information. It wasn’t like today with instant news.”

Mike Kaemper, now a lawyer in Albuquerque, covered the story for the SUN.

“I was down in Albuquerque at my sister’s house, and they broke in and said there’s been this shooting and a manhunt,” Kaemper said. “I got in my car and drove up straight to the scene.”

Kaemper said he arrived in Chimayó after dark. It was freezing cold and no one knew where Abeyta was, he said.

“Everyone was talking about how (Abeyta) was this incredible sharpshooter,” Kaemper said. “The lore was he could knock the bell off a goat from 100 yards.”

Police later found butts from Abeyta’s brand of cigarettes on a bluff overlooking the scene, which Kaemper described as “crawling” with police and reporters.

“They found like six butts in the dirt up on the bluff, like he was there watching us,” Kaemper said.

Kaemper said reporters from other media made use of early cell phones, a luxury he lacked.

“It was just me, and I couldn’t communicate with anybody,” Kaemper said. “I had police scanner, so I was glued to scanner to hear what was going on. But ultimately I don’t think the heater worked in my car, so I sat in Robert Seeds’ truck.”

Seeds, then and now an Española city councilor, said he was a close friend of Huber’s.

“I had talked to Glen (Huber) earlier that afternoon, and we were going to have a few burgers and a barbecue,” Seeds said. “As soon as I heard what was going on, I went out there. I’ll never forget that.”

SUN photographs show Seeds was a pallbearer at Huber’s funeral.

“Glen (Huber) was a true leader in that he had the respect of all the officers he worked with,” Seeds said. “He’s the type of guy who would stay out there until you were safe before he shut down his shift for the day. Glen epitomized leadership.”

At the trial, prosecutors sought the death penalty for Abeyta, who was found guilty on four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter. A jury deliberated for 11 days before deciding to give him life in prison, according to previous SUN reports.

“The attorney for Ricky Abeyta, his big thing was to keep (Abeyta) from getting the death penalty,” Kaemper said. “(Getting the death penalty) was a long shot because it was Santa Fe, but if anybody was going to get it, it was going to be him because he killed a baby and two (law enforcement officers). That’s about as bad as it gets.”

The lawyer, Gary Mitchell, whose practice is based in Ruidoso, tried to humanize Abeyta, rubbing his shoulders, and chatting and joking with him, Kaemper said.

“He had to get the jury to see (Abeyta) as a human being rather than a monster,” Kaemper said.

Mitchell did not return a call for this story.

First Judicial District Attorney Angela Pacheco, who helped then-district attorney Chester Walter and former chief deputy district attorney Henry Valdez try the case, could not be reached for this article.

Abeyta remains in state prison in Amarillo, Tex., serving a 146-year sentence with no parole, according to an online inmate database.

Officer GLEN MICHAEL HUBER
New Mexico State Police
End of Watch: Saturday January 26, 1991
Cause of Death: Gunfire

Between 4:00 and 4:30 on the afternoon of Saturday, January 26, 1991, State Police Officer Glen Huber and other officers were dispatched to a residence between Española and Chimayo just off State Road 76 in Rio Arriba County. Shots had already been fired but Huber had no way of knowing just how bad the situation was; no way of knowing that Deputy Sheriff Jerry Martinez was already dead, shot twice in the head.

Huber stopped well away from the scene to give himself an opportunity to size-up the area and the situation before taking any action. At a range of about 200 yards, Ricky Abeyta shot Glen Huber in the side of the head with a 7 millimeter rifle. The officer died instantly as he sat in his State Police car, his radio microphone in his hand.

Also shot to death by Ricky Abeyta that afternoon were: Ignacita Sandoval, 36, Abeyta's live-in girlfriend Maryellen Sandoval, 19, Ignacita's daughter Marcario Gonzales, 18, Maryellen's boy friend Justin Gonzales, five months, son of Maryellen and Marcario Cheryl Rendon, 24, Ignacita's sister. Shot in the buttocks and back, Eloy Sandoval, 13, Ignacita's son, survived his injuries. Another of Ignacita's sisters, Celina Gonzales, and her niece, Nikki Rendon, 3, (the daughter of Cheryl Rendon), escaped injury by fleeing out a window.

Members of Ignacita's family had gathered that Saturday afternoon to help Ignacita move out of Abeyta's mobile home. Earlier in the day, Deputy Martinez had gone to the residence to serve a restraining order on Abeyta who had fired three shots at Ignacita and Celina on the previous Wednesday. The deputy didn't find Abeyta and departed before 4:00 p.m. Abeyta arrived on the scene soon after Deputy Martinez left. According to witnesses, he said, "!Con esto pagan!" (With this I pay you back!) Then he began shooting at Ignacita and her family. Deputy Martinez returned as the initial shooting ended. Abeyta confronted the deputy at gunpoint, and, according to witnesses, shot the deputy twice in the head at close range. He killed Officer Huber when he arrived a few minutes later. Other officers began arriving then, and Abeyta managed to escape. Roadblocks were established and scores of officers took up the search for the fugitive. A helicopter equipped with night vision equipment was brought in. The fugitive evaded capture throughout the night and the next day.

Then, at about 9:30 on Sunday evening, State Police officers received word that Ricky Abeyta, along with some of his family members, were at the State Police office in Albuquerque. The killer wished to surrender. Captain James O. Jennings, Sgt. Gary Smith and Officer Danny Lichtenberger took Abeyta into custody without incident. Abeyta expressed concern that if he continued to run and hide, he would not be taken alive by police officers when they found him. Abeyta asked that he not be hurt and that he not be handcuffed. Jennings assured him that he would not be hurt, but also assured him that he would be cuffed.

Tried for his crimes in November, 1991, Ricky Abeyta was convicted on four counts of first degree murder (for killing Glen Huber, Ignacita Sandoval, Maryellen Sandoval, and Cheryl Renden); two counts of second degree murder (for killing Jerry Martinez and Marcario Gonzales); and one count of involuntary manslaughter (for killing Justin Gonzales). He was acquitted of attempted murder for shooting Eloy Sandoval. Combined, and served consecutively, Abeyta's sentences totaled 146 years.

Glen Huber was born in Boulder, Colorado, and raised in Roswell and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He graduated from Santa Fe High School in 1973. He also graduated from the New Mexico Military Institute in 1975 and then from New Mexico State University in 1977. He served four years in the U. S. Army, honorably discharged with the rank of first lieutenant. He joined the State Police in 1981 and resigned in 1986 to become town marshal in Pecos, New Mexico. He returned to the State Police in 1988 and was a senior patrolman at the time of his death. Officer Huber was survived by a daughter from his first marriage as well as a daughter from his second marriage. He also had two stepdaughters. He was buried at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe with full military and police honors. His funeral procession was ten miles long. Albuquerque Journal, January 27 & 28; August 1, 1991; January 26, 1006 New Mexico Department of Corrections, records James O. Jennings, Deputy Chief, New Mexico State Police, interview, August, 1995 The Roadrunner (New Mexico State Police Association, Vol. 3, No. 2, Summer, 1992)

Nmlememorial.org

Deputy Sheriff JERRY ARNOLD MARTINEZ
Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Department
End of Watch: Saturday January 26, 1991
Cause of Death: Gunfire

On Saturday, January 26, 1991, Rio Arriba County Deputy Sheriff Jerry Martinez went to Ricky Abeyta's residence near Chimayo to serve a restraining order. Abeyta had fired three shots at Ignacita Sandoval and Celina Gonzales on the previous Wednesday. The deputy didn't find Abeyta at home and departed before 4:00 p.m. Abeyta returned home soon after Martinez left. According to witnesses, he said, "!Con esto pagan!" (With this I pay you back!) Then he began shooting the people there with a rifle. He killed five people immediately: three women, a man and a five-month-old baby. Deputy Martinez returned to the scene, apparently as the initial shooting ended. Abeyta confronted the officer at gunpoint, and, according to witnesses, he shot the deputy twice in the head at close range. Martinez's body was found later beside his patrol car. Abeyta also subsequently killed State Police Officer Glen Huber. Other officers arrived as Abeyta managed to escape. Roadblocks were established and scores of officers took up the search for the fugitive. A helicopter rigged with night vision equipment was brought in. The fugitive evaded capture throughout the night and well into the next day.

Then, at about 9:30 p.m. on Sunday evening, State Police officers received word that Abeyta, along with some of his family members, were at the District V State Police office in Albuquerque. The killer wished to surrender. Captain James O. Jennings, Sgt. Gary Smith and Officer Danny Lichtenberger took Abeyta into custody. Abeyta expressed concern that if he continued to run and hide, he would not be taken alive by police officers when they found him. He asked arresting officers not to hurt him, and said he did not want to be handcuffed. Captain Jennings told him that he would not be hurt, but that he would be cuffed. He was taken to Santa Fe without incident.

Tried for his crimes in November 1991, Ricky Abeyta was convicted on four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter. Combined, and to be served consecutively, Abeyta's sentences totaled 146 years.

Jerry Martinez was born in Chimayo and graduated from Española High School. He studied criminology at San Francisco Community College and the College of Santa Fe. He served as a paratrooper with the U. S. Army. He planned to run for Rio Arriba County Sheriff in 1992. Deputy Martinez was survived by his wife, Lisa, and two children, Nick, 5, and Destiny, a two-week old baby; his parents, Roman and Molly Martinez; and a brother, Rocky. Albuquerque Journal, January 27 & 28, 1991 Deputy Chief James O. Jennings, New Mexico State Police, conversations, summer 1995 New Mexico Department of Corrections Records The Roadrunner (New Mexico State Police Association, Vol. 3, No. 2, Summer, 1992)

Nmlememorial.org