Valasca
February 26th, 2010, 06:58 PM
On Monday, Pueblo police and the district attorney's office announced an arrest in a murder that was nearly 30 years old.
Police said they reopened the case of Cheryl Valdez at the urging of Valdez's family and, in cooperation with Tennessee officials, have arrested Thomas Cortinas, 58, for the killing.
But law enforcement officers were also quick to say that cold cases in the department are given attention even without the prompting of family.
"We look at those constantly," said Deputy Chief John Ercul. "If we have the time and get a little lull in our current workload we're pretty much looking through and reading through all of the cold cases."
Ercul said detectives get assigned a specific cold case to examine cover-to-cover. "If we find questions we can't answer, then we start fresh," Ercul said.
There are at least 12 cold cases in the department's electronic files, including the murders of Derrick Wagner and Courtney Chinn in 2003, Ercul said.
Ercul likened the Wagner case to the Valdez case, where police believe they know who killed Wagner but are looking for more evidence to prove it.
Wagner was killed during a home invasion and robbery.
Chinn was fatally shot in the parking lot next to the Anchor Bar at Seventh and Main streets.
Ercul said two current cases are still open and not considered cold, though progress has been slow.
Police are still looking for the people responsible for a drive-by shooting that killed Michael Vigil in August.
The case of Eric Ortiz, who was shot in an East Side home invasion in 2007, also remains open, Ercul said.
Other cold cases in Ercul's computer database include:
- David Daigle, a transient who was beaten to death in 2002.
- Adam Velez, shot by two masked gunmen in an alley on the 1900 block of East Sixth Street in 1997.
- Noel Chavez, killed in a drive-by shooting on the 1600 block of Routt Avenue in 1997.
- Stephanie Chavez, 15, killed in a drive-by shooting in the city's West Side in 1994.
- Gloria Madrid, strangled in 1991.
- Longtime bar owner Verla Jean Dodds also known as Jeanie Dodds, strangled in 1991.
- James Hamm, shot on a motorcycle in 1991.
- John Doe, an unknown transient found bound and thrown into the Arkansas River in 1989.
- Julian Garcia, beaten to death in 1989.
- Charles Cardenas, found in his home with his throat slashed and his wallet stolen in 1988.
http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2010/02/26/news/local/doc4b87852a17a8a218993446.txt
Police said they reopened the case of Cheryl Valdez at the urging of Valdez's family and, in cooperation with Tennessee officials, have arrested Thomas Cortinas, 58, for the killing.
But law enforcement officers were also quick to say that cold cases in the department are given attention even without the prompting of family.
"We look at those constantly," said Deputy Chief John Ercul. "If we have the time and get a little lull in our current workload we're pretty much looking through and reading through all of the cold cases."
Ercul said detectives get assigned a specific cold case to examine cover-to-cover. "If we find questions we can't answer, then we start fresh," Ercul said.
There are at least 12 cold cases in the department's electronic files, including the murders of Derrick Wagner and Courtney Chinn in 2003, Ercul said.
Ercul likened the Wagner case to the Valdez case, where police believe they know who killed Wagner but are looking for more evidence to prove it.
Wagner was killed during a home invasion and robbery.
Chinn was fatally shot in the parking lot next to the Anchor Bar at Seventh and Main streets.
Ercul said two current cases are still open and not considered cold, though progress has been slow.
Police are still looking for the people responsible for a drive-by shooting that killed Michael Vigil in August.
The case of Eric Ortiz, who was shot in an East Side home invasion in 2007, also remains open, Ercul said.
Other cold cases in Ercul's computer database include:
- David Daigle, a transient who was beaten to death in 2002.
- Adam Velez, shot by two masked gunmen in an alley on the 1900 block of East Sixth Street in 1997.
- Noel Chavez, killed in a drive-by shooting on the 1600 block of Routt Avenue in 1997.
- Stephanie Chavez, 15, killed in a drive-by shooting in the city's West Side in 1994.
- Gloria Madrid, strangled in 1991.
- Longtime bar owner Verla Jean Dodds also known as Jeanie Dodds, strangled in 1991.
- James Hamm, shot on a motorcycle in 1991.
- John Doe, an unknown transient found bound and thrown into the Arkansas River in 1989.
- Julian Garcia, beaten to death in 1989.
- Charles Cardenas, found in his home with his throat slashed and his wallet stolen in 1988.
http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2010/02/26/news/local/doc4b87852a17a8a218993446.txt