Mark Delgado Jr., the suspect in a December homicide, was arrested Tuesday after months of evading capture.
Delgado, 30, is accused of fatally shooting 55-year-old James Towle at about 12:30 a.m. Dec. 30 near the intersection of Rufina Street and Siler Road. Towle’s family said he was on a road trip from Colorado to Las Vegas, Nev., at the time of his death.
Delgado is being charged with first-degree murder.
Officers were called to the area of the 4300 block of Acequia Lane around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday after a resident reported a man walking around while bleeding from his face, Santa Fe police Capt. Aaron Ortiz said.
“From what I understand, [Delgado] was looking for somebody and a neighbor had called in because they weren’t sure who he was, and were concerned because he was bleeding from the face,” Ortiz said.
He said police don’t know who Delgado was looking for.
Delgado told police he had been in a fight shortly before, which is why he was bleeding. He told police he could not recall the name of the person he fought with.
Delgado gave police a fake name and date of birth, but Ortiz said it is still being investigated whether he did so on purpose, given how intoxicated he was at the time of the arrest.
“It’s not clear if he was intentionally doing so or if he was that inebriated that he couldn’t figure out his name,” Ortiz said.
Delgado was taken to an area hospital before being booked into the Santa Fe County jail, Ortiz said.
Detectives interviewed Delgado at the jail Wednesday. Ortiz said he confessed to shooting Towle but claimed he did not do so intentionally.
“He claimed that he shot in the air and he didn’t mean to shoot the person. … He didn’t say if it was for the purposes of intimidating the victim, but all he clarified was that he shot towards the air and didn’t mean to shoot the person,” Ortiz said.
Michele Towle, James Towle’s sister, said her family is still numb when it comes to processing the news of Delgado’s arrest, but added they are excited things are moving in the right direction.
“We could not be more grateful, just for all the hard work everybody has done. … The hard part is that it doesn’t bring my brother back, but it is a continued step for closure on this,” she said.
She said she got the news when a detective working the case reached out to her Tuesday while she was celebrating Independence Day in Colorado. Upon hearing, she ran into her mother’s room and woke her up from a nap to let her know the man accused of killing her son had finally been arrested.
“I said, ‘Well, [there are] thunderstorms here, so I’m kind of bummed my Fourth of July plans are going to be a little messed up,'” Michele Towle said. “And he said, ‘Well, I don’t think so.’ “
Delgado’s February arrest warrant affidavit stated the shooting occurred near Dave’s Muffler Shop, and accused the suspect’s cousin, Jose Delgado, and shop owner David Gallegos of tampering with or withholding video surveillance footage and misdirecting police during their initial investigation into the shooting.
Charges against Gallegos were dismissed in March. Jose Delgado is still charged with tampering with evidence, conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence, and harboring or aiding a felon. However, District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman JoHanna Cox wrote in an email a plea agreement has been proposed in his case.
“He waived [a preliminary hearing] and a general plea was agreed to but he hasn’t signed it nor has it been set in district court yet,” Cox wrote.
A hearing in Mark Delgado’s case is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.