Mayoral Candidate Paul J. Heh supports the “Unborn Child Protection” Ballot Initiative

You have to stand for something or you will fall for anything…

Mayoral Candidate Paul Heh stated, “I support the democracy of the ‘Unborn Child Protection’ ballot initiative. This initiative does not violate a woman’s right to decide or choose; however, it does limit the time to twenty weeks. An abortion after twenty weeks is simply barbaric.” Heh also stated the difference between this proposal and the current laws is four weeks.  This initiative is a win-win for all.

Mayoral Candidate Pete Dinelli says he opposes the initiative.

Mayor Berry was out of town (again; as usual) and had one of his flunky's make some type of rhetoric statement on his behalf.

Heh's approach appears reasonable and balanced in a three prong approach:

1)  The measure DOES NOT prevent the mother from making the choice/decision to have an abortion.

2)  The measure limits the decision to FIVE MONTHS to abort.

3)   The measure stop the barbaric death of the unborn child.

We agree with Heh that this initiative is a true win-win for all.

Eye Poll Reveals DARK HORSE

The Eye On Albuquerque conducted a Mayoral poll.  A total of 558 people participated in the poll.  The question present to the public was, “If the Mayoral Election were held today who would you vote for?”  The results were somewhat of a surprise. 

The poll showed Mayoral Candidate, Paul Heh, with a commanding lead at 41% followed by Mayoral Candidate, Pete Dinelli, with 31%.  Another shocking revelation was current Mayor Berry only held 15% of the vote. There was a total of 11% of undecided voters.

It appears at this time Heh is the Dark Stallion in this race and may pull a huge up-set.  People may finally be fed-up with Berry and his shenanigan’s.

 The Poll was held from Monday, July 22, 2013 thru Monday, July 29, 2013.  The poll was open to vote on 24/7 during the open period.  The poll and the results are shown below:

If the Mayoral Election were held today who would you vote for?

Paul J. Heh	230 (41%)
Peter Dinelli	176 (31%)
RJ Berry	89 (15%)
I have not decided yet	63 (11%)

Total Votes: 558

Error margin +/- 2%

 

Although the poll is unscientific it does provide an insight to what voters are thinking.

EXPOSE’: The Murder and Cover-up of a Small Town Girl; Tera Chavez

PART 5 OF 5 in THE EYE ON ALBUQUERQUE EXPOSE'

PART 5: A Family Ripped Apart

On September 27, 2007, Tera Chavez reported Levi's Ford F-250 was stolen from their driveway. In addition to a police report, in the report to Allstate Insurance on October 6th, an affidavit was completed whereby Levi Chavez claimed all of the keys to the truck were accounted for. However, neighbors state they recall seeing Levi drive away in the truck in late September followed by at least one marked Albuquerque Police Department vehicle (police unit). Several hours later, Levi is seen returning to the house in his marked unit but the truck was never seen again at the Chavez home. Not again until it was recovered in Mexico around March 30th, 2011, with a changed VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) from a vehicle owned by former APD police officer and police APOA Union President, Pete Dwyer. And oddly, the truck had no damage to its steering column...

Dwyer would later be terminated by APD for his posting of inappropriate comments on Tweeter. Dwyer was also under suspicion by the APOA Union for unaccounted debts he racked up while he was president of the union.  Dwyer was pressured to resign from the Unions’ top spot.

On October 15th, the NM Insurance Fraud Bureau received a call concerning how to report a "fake stolen truck." A name similar to Tera's is left and the callback number left is the one for Tera's salon. Also in October, Levi opened up a new bank account and changed his APD direct deposit information to the new account so Tera could not see or access Levi’s income from APD.

Tera Chavez told fellow workers at the Salon, she owned, and her family if she turned up dead it was Levi who killed her.  You see Tera felt guilty about succumbing to Levi’s pressure and reporting his truck stolen. Levi reportedly told Tera and his friend that he wanted a “Caddi.” The purpose of reporting the truck stolen was to do insurance fraud which would allow Chavez to purchase his “Caddi.”  Tera was reported as telling friend and family that Levi threatened her; if she ever told, he would kill her.

Since 2005, Levi has been overextending himself with loans and credit card debt. The City of Rio Rancho sues him for breach of contract. Capital One credit card sues him for non-payment. Levi Chavez, Sr. takes out a credit card in his son's name and he defaults on that account leaving the credit card company to go after his son. They have high interest truck payments for the F-250 (which at that time has a resale value of around $20,000...so the payments are almost as large as a mortgage), they have high interest payments on the house because of his Zero-Down VA loan (in fact they owe more than it's worth), they have monthly bills and expenses, and Levi of course is living it large as he bounces from bed to bed with his various sex partners who are all cops. 

Over the weekend of October 21, 2007, Levi states that Tera called him "hundreds" of times. Yet his Verizon cell phone records show only sixteen calls on October 20, 2007, with his last call to his voicemail at 11:26PM. Then on October 21, 2007, he makes nine calls with his first one at 3:32PM to a City of Albuquerque phone number. At about 8:45PM he calls Debra Romero and talks with her for about 8 minutes. He then states he calls 911 around 9:01 stating he found his wife deceased and quickly plants the notion that her death is from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. From this call an avalanche of issues ensue, and intentionally lost in the debris is a crime scene.

VCSO deputies arrive and meet Levi in front of his house. He is quick to show them a text on his phone that states, "I'm so sad..." and shows a time of 1:06AM earlier that day. Levi keeps asserting it's her fault she did this. That he should've known. VCSO Detective Aaron Jones arrives and completes a brief interview with Levi. Levi has not given anybody information regarding Tera's parents. He has not expressed concern about Tera's children or Tera's family--especially Mr. Cordova who had given them a loan earlier to help them with their financial difficulties. Jones eventually obtains Tera's parents information and leaves the scene in the care of fellow VSCO deputies while he goes to provide notification to Tera's parents.

While Jones is away, Levi's lieutenant, former APD officer Shawn O'Connell was notified about the incident. He briefs his then commander, and current U.S. Marshall for New Mexico, Conrad Candelaria, that he is headed down to Tera's house on Ash Place.  Also en route is Sgt. James Silver of APD Internal Affairs, APD Officer Rick Ingram as a police union representative, and none other than APD Officer Ron Olivas. There are allegations that there were at least four other APD officers in addition to these four but they, as of today, have not been identified.  APD Standard Operating Procedures require that when an officer's duty is discharged an IA sergeant is sent to investigate. Consistent with that policy would be that the sergeant bring along a Field Investigator to examine the scene and discharged weapon. Given that there is City of Albuquerque property involved and harm stemming from the discharging of that property (the gun), it would be poor policy for the city not to inspect the scene or at least show that they made an effort to.

While this entourage of APD officers heads down to Los Lunas, Tera Chavez's father is notified of his daughter's death by Detective Jones. "Lock down the house" is Mr. Cordova's immediate response. Not denial that his daughter is gone, not disbelief at what he is being told in the early hours of October 21, but immediate problem solving.

But by then it's too late.

Inside the house, at least Lieutenant O'Connell, Sergeant Silver, and Officer Ingram go through the property walking past VCSO deputies and OMI personnel. Conveniently outside is Officer Olivas. Later Olivas would forcefully argue and sell that he "didn't go inside" sensing that something was wrong. Without speaking up, Olivas either let the others destroy the crime scene OR in fact helped. This would happen again almost two years later when Olivas "didn't go inside" but led former APD Officer Brad Ahrensfield believe that his son's arrest was imminent.

Inside the house, instead of throwing away a mattress that he claims was "cleared" by OMI and VCSO detectives, O'Connell cut away a patch of blood stained mattress fabric while Ingram and Silver later rummaged through furniture and personal effects. Something bloody is flushed down the toilet. Even though the weather had been very warm, VCSO detectives note that there are damp towels draped across chairs in the house.  Whatever other information the scene may have told about what happened is now gone under the footprints and manhandling of the Levi’s buddies evidence eradication team. This incident of flooding a crime scene (murder set up to look like a suicide) with cops would be repeated again but on a much grander and more macabre scale nearly three years later but this time with APD Deputy Chiefs and Captains.

With the scene walked over, Tera taken away, and Levi propagating a story that Tera was so troubled, despite getting divorce paperwork finalized, that she was so worried about finances, despite putting things in place for her own salon, and that her life revolved around him, despite her using APD Officer Nick Wheeler as a stepping stone to get out from Levi's manipulations, it seemed too late for there to be open consideration that this young woman's death was the result of a homicide.

In the years since this happened, former Officer Russell Perea was ultimately fired from APD. It turned out that HE tagged the belt tape and not Levi. But despite there being this absence of any activity where it is clear with clear and convincing (as the standard goes) evidence that Perea lied and covered for Levi Chavez, APD couldn't even fire him correctly. They terminated him not for lying to the dispatcher or his supervisor or his colleagues about being out of service and what he was doing (covering for Levi Chavez) but for not being "forthcoming." In other words, instead of relying on all that they had in hand, APD speculated about why Perea lied. Perea appealed his termination in the 2nd District Court room of Judge Bacon last month.  If Perea would have told the truth in the Levi Chavez murder trial it would have proved the City’s case against him.  Perea had to lie to save his job he was terminated from with APD and that is still on appeal.

In the summer of 2007, Perea had just lateraled over to APD via the 7th Lateral Academy class. He did not have a car yet and was assigned to work Team 5 of the Westside area command and to work with Levi Chavez. On the night of October 20, 2007, Perea drove Levi's car and Perea did all of the work while, in Perea's own words, "Levi texted all night." 

Levi would remain on the city's payroll until he was indicted in April 2011. Shortly thereafter, APD's chief would finally fire him. After endless occasions where it was clear Levi had lied to supervisors, citizens, and colleagues about his whereabouts and what he was doing, had falsified police records in the computer dispatch system, had dispatcher Desiree Gonzales falsely log him at places he wasn't at, had injured untold numbers of fellow officers....Chief Schultz waited to fire him until he had the cover of an indictment to terminate the officer. In true Schultzian fashion, Ray Schultz waited until it was not his decision to make. Keep in mind, when the murder occurred, Levi Chavez was still a probationary employee and could have been terminated for “any reason or no reason at all.”

Current CACU detective, and Levi's wife, Heather Chavez, was married to another officer in 2007. Upon returning home in mid-November not even a month after Tera's murder, that officer saw a car parked around the corner from his house. He pulled up the call history for the officer on his patrol computer and found it was a car assigned to Levi Chavez. But Chavez was logged on a call nowhere near his house. The officer pulled adjacent to his driveway, walked into his house, and inside found his wife with Levi Chavez.

One has to ask, if a person will falsify a police report, will lie about his location to a dispatcher, will seduce a fellow officer's wife in that officer's very home in the presence of their child....what won't that officer do?

EPILOGUE

Much of the details in this narrative over the last week come from public record sources. Sadly, much of this information was not presented to the jury in the trial because of weak lawyering by Valencia County Prosecutor McKay.  We at the Eye were so disgusted with the miscarriage of justice in the trial of Levi Chavez that we hope this effort over the last week tells the Cordova family that you are not alone and while many are afraid to speak out, we are not. And given the recent events over the last week, we will be even more aggressive in our exposure of misconduct and crimes by those in power. If you think we've been a pain to corrupt office holders over the last six years, stand by...

APD's new Chief, Allen Banks will take office this Friday. A few years ago when he was asked in a deposition about whether fraternization issues could negatively impair performance by APD officers given all that had happened with the Levi Chavez. Banks hesitated and then tried to evade the question by asking for clarification. When the interviewer reduced it to simple terms such as, do you think officers sleeping with fellow officer's wives would be problematic for the department, Banks answered, "I truly don't understand what you're asking me."

 

Who is the guilty one...

 

Disclaimer: The Eye On Albuquerque is not for profit and is a public opinion information blog. This story is based on facts gathered and our opinion as to what transpired based on those facts.

 

EXPOSE’: The Murder and Cover-up of a Small Town Girl; Tera Chavez

PART 4 OF 5 in THE EYE ON ALBUQUERQUE EXPOSE'

PART 4: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE/A SACRIFICE IS MADE

DUE TO THE GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE: VIEWER DESECRETION IS ADVISED. 
 

According to the weather almanacs, the weekend of October 21, 2007 was a warm one. The daytime temperature for both days peaked at about 84F and in the evening it dropped to a cool 44F. One might have had a cooler on during the day but not likely, and they certainly would not have had one on at night.

From about 7:30pm Saturday October 20th till sometime after midnight on October 21st, Levi Chavez's whereabouts were unknown and not confirmed by any witnesses, despite being a police officer.

However, Tera was at her home on Ash Place in Los Lunas. Sometime that evening, Tera had plans to meet somebody for dinner but that dinner, for whatever reason, ended up in the trashcan. Since it was supposed to be Levi she was to meet, and a neighbor reports seeing an APD police car back out of the driveway, it was in all probability Levi Chavez. 

Tera then changed into her pajamas, climbed under her covers, and watched television flipping through channels with the remote in her right hand. In her room, various pictures of her family sat on the dresser and night stand. It’s easy to visualize a picture of one of her children’s’ new born pictures… A picture of both of them. Next to the newborn picture sat a formal picture of Levi Chavez as a new Albuquerque Police Department officer.

Ironically, after clearing a domestic violence call on Central and taking the suspect back to the substation at 7:44pm, Levi's task were straight forward:

1) Tagging a tape (time allotted for this task; five minutes).

2) Writing two-page misdemeanor domestic violence report and criminal complaint (time allotted for this task; thirty minutes).

Perea then transported the suspect to the PTC where personnel there took custody of him at about 9:35pm.

While Tera had fallen asleep with the TV on and all the houselights off, the remote in her hand and her index finger outstretched, sometime after 11pm, in front of pictures of her children the killer walked up to her with Levi Chavez’s APD issued 9mm Glock, thrust the gun into her mouth almost into her esophagus and fired a single round. The 9mm bullet penetrated her brainstem and did not exit. Death was instantaneous.

The gun was shoved into Tera’s mouth with such force and rage that it chipped one of Tera’s teeth. Levi Chavez’s defense wanted everyone to believe that Tera was some type of contortionist and flipped the gun around and up-side-down to place it in her mouth.  The gun was forced so far back into her throat that her “gag reflexes” would have rejected the object far before it could have went in so deep and discharged.

Was there a conversation between the killer and Tera?  Was this murder the act of domestic violence? Was this murder partially part of a revenge plot? What would be the motive for such a plot?  Did the murderer tell or threaten Tera with killing or hurting her children? Was Tera forced to allow the murderer “carte’ blanche” to kill her to save her children?  For most people they will do anything to protect their children from harm. Was this the case with Tera Chavez?

Tera’s nightmare was over in a split-second. Tera's dreams of being free from the terror, horror, pain and hurt that Levi Chavez had caused, was finally over. Her new reality was not the one a loving and caring mother wanted. Did Tera give her life to save her children from a monster who now has them anyway?  Was Tera’s sacrifice of death given in vein?

The killer left the scene, but like all violent encounters between two humans, there were details present. Details that were not consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot and details consistent with the actions of a killer.

-There was no “outgassing” spray of matter and/or fluid on the bed, on her hand, or on her face after the gun was fired.

-Tera's eyes remained closed.

-Her head and upper torso sloped to the right.

-Tera's velvety hair was fanned out across the bed and not crinkled up, or folded under her head, as it should've been had she slid sideways. Tera’s placement appeared staged.

-The gun's muzzle remained almost free of biological material.

-The casing remained on the bed, but not in a position consistent with where it should be if the gun were fired in an orientation proposed by Levi Chavez. Due to the gun’s action, the gun casing will send the empty bullet casing a certain direct each and every time. The position of the bullet casing is consistent with the gun being forced into Tera’s mouth by a murderer and not the up-side-down theory of Chavez’s defense.

-Nor were there lacerations on the tongue that would be present from the sudden action of the slide exploding back and chambering a new round while resting on it.

-There was a burn ring on Tera’s tongue.

-The APD issued gun lay cradled in Tera's armpit mere inches from her face with the muzzle pointing up to her head.

-Its magazine unseated.

-No powder burns exist on her hands, and her undamaged nails remained delicately manicured.

-There was no DNA located on the gun which is consistent with the weapon being cleaned off before it was placed by the murderer.

-The magazine of the gun was unseated. Dead people cannot unseat a gun magazine only a live person like the murderer could accomplish this task. This probably occurred when the weapon was being sanitized by the murderer.

-There was no cell phone on the bed or nearby.

-There were no tissues on the bed.

-There was no note on the bed.

And lastly, the children were due home on Sunday.

But the plans for the children to be safe at home with “Mom” would be changed and Levi had to get up to Debra Romero's house. She lived on Purcell NE, up near Spain NE and Juan Tabo NE. That was straight up I-25 and across Albuquerque. A 40-mile drive from Los Lunas but Levi had plenty of time to rob his children of their mother; he just needed to be sneaky about it… 

Here is another question that must be asked: what if APD’s Chief of Police, Ray Schultz, would have had a policy that prohibited adultery/infidelity?  Would this have prevented this murder or did Schultz’s failure to act or his condoning of extra marital affairs contribute to Tera’s murder?

 

In the final segment of this series we will wrap up all the loose ends, answer several unanswered questions and the picture will be clear.

Schultz and Fischer Sitting in a Berry-Tree,_______...

As our Eyes have been reporting ever since APD's current chief, Ray Schultz was served a lawsuit at an apartment located near Paseo and Wyoming NE our posters have been flooding us with tips about Mr. Schultz's...um...activities. It seems certain things may be breaking out and may explain his bizarre comments supporting public employees sleeping around. Schultz claims its "...nature at play."

We think we've figured it out. But here is a story we posted earlier this year...perhaps there's more than awards going on here. Perhaps there's something more than what meets the Eye...

Perhaps one of our readers (NOT BERRY) can connect the dots...

"It's not nice to fool with Mother 'Nature.'"

RE-POST
(CLICK HERE TO VIEW ORIGINAL POSTING)

 

Schultz Defends His Incompetence By Blaming Others

“Property crime is up, the Department of Justice is here, APD is below 1,000 officers, there are only seven cadets in the current academy class, 911 response times are up, APD has lost over $30,000,000 of taxpayer dollars and counting in (police misconduct) lawsuits (since 2002,) and (a police union) survey says the officers don’t have faith in Chief Schultz” –Retired APD Sergeant Dan Klein

“It does raise the question of who was minding the store. There is a great benefit to spending time with others in the law enforcement community and attending conferences, but what did we really get for it? Was Chief Schultz out padding his résumé? Or was he bringing tangible benefits back to the city and the department?”—Retired APD Lieutenant Steve Tate

“The promotion of incompetent supervisors is the rule rather than the exception and numerous supervisors have their current position as a result of lawsuits. Leaders who supported their troops were punished by being passed over on promotions while the meek that followed orders without questions were rewarded.” –Retired Officer Chad Wilder

50% of the officers believe Schultz should be fired, 99% think Schultz is doing a poor job and the reason why morale is down.—APOA Survey

“Well there’s never been a story done on me before. I find it a little suspect. I’ve been chief for 8 years but that’s no problem.” “We are under investigation because of the force encounters in 2010. That’s it.”—(current) APD Chief Ray Schultz. Schultz then dismissed Klein’s criticisms, saying he had no direct knowledge of what it takes to be a police chief [and] that Tate was a “mid-manager” who has been gone from APD for several years and said he wasn’t qualified to assess the work of a police chief.

 

In Monday’s paper, Chief Schultz was confronted with his extensive travel and vacation time over the last couple years. In addition to the data in the report, in at least 16 trips covering over 51 days of travel, Schultz went hobnobbing with others to conferences and conventions. In his interview with the Journal’s Jeff Proctor, Schultz got very animated in his discussion regarding officer body cams, vendor discussions, and technology. For those that have interacted with Schultz, we all know how he gets very excited in talking about how technology will solve this or that. Except that we know ideas are worthless when they are not implemented or are implemented by people that have no skills involving law enforcement (for instance self-anointed “smart police” commander TJ Wilham).

But what is truly stunning, is Schultz’s continued denial of accepting any external criticism. As the above quotes indicate honest concerns relevant to APD current state of affairs, Schultz is more interested in discrediting his very critics. Yet despite all of Schultz’s endless posturing about how he’s implemented 95% of these ideas, or unique approaches, DOJ is very much here investigation a department that is in crisis. About 12 officers have graduated from APD’s new training “university” and there are less than 10 in the current academy. The date for the next academy is unknown. But while new recruits trickle in, officers retire as soon as possible and outpace new hires. A whole class of officers have now been determined to have been targets of discrimination. Crime is up. Costs are up. Lawsuit costs are up. Now we have a fatal accident involving a sergeant over the weekend that already smell bad given BCSO’s PIO putting their thumb on the scale comments about why the sergeant may have been running code (really so a person was killed while he was ATL’ng for a drunk driver…really?). Now even one of Schultz’s protected sergeants is in trouble with a domestic violence related arrest in Sandoval County.

Funny how no other department in the state, or region, seems to have so many daily problems. But Schultz will be pointing the finger at somebody else. But there’s one thing Schultz can’t deny, he knows how to use his time to his own benefit. In 2012, there were 240 working days. However of all those days, Schultz was on “work” out of town for 31 days and took 29 days of vacation. So out of 240 days of work, he spent 180 days, or 75% here in Albuquerque. So 1 out of every 4 days, he was somewhere else….And we all know that while Schultz boasts about working around the clock, there is a rotation of duty chiefs. So even Schultz gets to be off and out much more frequently than he states. And it seems he has a favorite companion….and a future trip already planned……..a revisit from last year’s show it seems:

 

September 19, 2013—New England Organized Crime Symposium& Trade Show
Keynote Speakers: APD Ray Schultz and Karen Fischer
                CLICK TO VIEW BY AGENDA HERE

September 28, 2012— New England Organized Crime Symposium& Trade Show
Keynote Speakers: APD Ray Schultz and Karen Fischer
                CLICK TO VIEW NEWS LETTER HERE

And lastly, Lieutenant (Ret.) Steve Tate responded to Schultz's comments with his usual accuracy:

I would like to point out that this "critic&qu­ot; is concerned with the value of the trips and conferences during a time when APD is involved in turmoil. What do we have to show that improved based on these trips and conferences? They may have been a benefit to the city, but what was the return on that investment? This is a valid and deserved question since tax payer money was used . It is a true embarrassment to the entire police department and community that the DOJ is even in town looking into APD. Do the DOJ investigators happen to be qualified to assess the "work of a police chief" since they most likely were never police chiefs themselves. What a ridiculous response by Schultz to valid criticism. I find it very telling that Schultz's response is to claim that his critics are not qualified to assess his work because they never held the position or have been gone for a few years. This shows how disconnected Schultz is. Who knows what his definition is of "work of a police chief". What does that mean anyway? I would rather focus on his performance as a leader. If we do this, then everyone in the APD, city and entire community is more than qualified to assess his performance. Let's ask if the department is in better shape during his tenure and see what the facts show. Let's ask about department morale......and about community relationships. A real leader would be very concerned with morale since it will ultimately impact how the department is viewed by the community. If you treat your department employees the right way, then you can expect them to treat the community the same way. Is it a coincidence that department morale is at an all time crisis level low and at the same time the DOJ has seen fit to come to Albuquerque? Successful organizational leaders understand this relationship with employee and customer (community) satisfaction and put in place initiatives to ensure they can impact this relationship in a positive and effective way. I find it interesting that Schultz has never proactively created an anonymous employees satisfaction survey to gain insight into department morale. The police union did their own survey and when the overwhelming numbers showed they had no faith in Schultz, what was his response? He attacked the critics just like he did in this case. A real leader would have been very concerned and taken steps to work on that relationship internally. A real leader would not blame everything and everyone else as Schultz had done for his almost 8 year tenure as chief. However, Schultz isn't an effective leader and that is what APD needs now....a leader running APD............­not someone just doing the "work of a police chief". Schultz should have stepped down years ago and when he didn't, Mayor Berry should have removed him. APD and the entire community has suffered because of Schultz's ineffective and plain lack of leadership. Don't take my word for it.....especial­ly since I've been gone for 6 years.....ask anyone currently with APD or that has recently left and see what they tell you.....you will be shocked.



PRESS RELEASE BY MAYORAL CANDIDATE PAUL HEH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 7, 2013
Contact: Paul Heh   (505) 459-5545 

“Why can’t Mr. Berry obey the law?”

Albuquerque, NM—When asked about unchecked sexual relationship among officers in a recent interview  with KOB-TV reporter Tom Joles, Ray Schultz, APD’s chief since 2005, ambivalently responded that its “…nature at play.”  When the expected outcry ensued in response to this insensitive remark in a department where the nation saw elements of APD’s infidelity during the recent Levi Chavez murder trial, Schultz added, “I spoke of how it is a problem that many police departments face and that some of the challenges include ‘young people, good shape, etc.’

Mayoral candidate Paul Heh weighed in stating, “This is a tragic problem in APD. There have been lives lost because of department leaders looking away while such relationship are going on. For Schultz to it’s ‘nature at play’ reveals he does not care about the citizens never mind his personnel. Callous beyond belief, except it’s Ray Schultz so I’m not surprised.” Heh added, “Schultz’s comments this morning in response to this backlash is even more revealing because not only does Schultz concede it’s a ‘problem’—and I know for a fact it is a huge problem in APD--but that Schultz knew about it, was given notice about it by an officer doing graduate work at UNM, and still failed to do anything about it.”

When asked about how his administration would handle this issue, Heh remarked, “You can’t simply tell people that they can’t associate with other people. That would be like saying to employees you can’t organize and collectively bargain. But first you have to address the issue, and then there are steps for sure that I will do as mayor to control it. I have had a policy on this issue that not only works, but more importantly is enforceable.”

The Nature of Things

While we will continue our detailed Expose of what will surely be remembered as one of APD's most disgraceful moments, the Levi Chavez affair(s). We take this moment to address some disgusting comments by APD's current, but soon to be departed Chief, Ray Schultz.

In an interview with KOB anchor Tom Joles, when asked about the endless affairs going on between officers in APD, Schultz's response was:

"In law enforcement you've got young good looking folks that do this job, that's our target group of employees.  Twenty, thirty, forty year old men and women we ask them to stay in good shape..." And in the ultimate statement of endorsing the behavior, "uh... there's...uh....nature at play."

So, is it "nature at play" when a supervisor is sleeping with another officer's wife and she kills herself?

So, is it "nature at play" when a supervisor responds to a DV call of one of his subordinates and sleeps with the officer's wife?

So, is it "nature at play" when an officer is sleeping around with numerous other officers he works with?                                                                                                                                           
So, is it "nature at play" when an officer sleeps with another officer's wife?

However, isn't defying "nature at play" what it means to be a police officer? That you DO NOT give in to temptation and you do what's right? That in order to have the extra credibility in court your behavior is beyond criticism because you defeat natural and malignant temptations?

Since, Schultz opened the door to "nature" we thought we'd remind him and our thousands of readers what "nature at play" means:

"Nature at play" happens when you have fewer officers now in the department then when you did 20 years ago.

"Nature at play" happens when your senior officers retire as soon as they are able to.

"Nature at play" happens when lawsuits against your department exceed budgeted funds.

"Nature at play" happens when you give "too much soul" as a reason why you left Michigan, but are replaced by a person who may actually have a soul.

"Nature at play" happens when DOJ comes in to undo the mess you've made of your department.

"Nature at play" happens when as chief of police you get served a subpoena at an apartment instead of your house because you've been kicked out by your wife.

"Nature at play" happens when you allude from the truth of what is really going on with you.

"Nature at play" happens when you're fired as Public Safety Director when you interfere in a criminal investigation.

"Nature at play" happens when you get sued even more because you discipline employees unfairly and lack consistency.

"Nature at play" happens when your department is so toxic you've had three times as many officers take their own lives than killed at the hands of criminals.

"Nature at play" happens when you're policies are of such failure crime rates continue to soar and there are beggars on every corner harassing motorists.

"Nature at play" happens when your training programs are so poor state and federal court judges use you as an example of what not to do.

"Nature at play" happens when you use your fascism management style because of the culture of corruption you have created.

"Nature at play" happens when you force a social media policy on employees because of your shortcomings.

 "Nature at play" happens when you act childish and try to get "even" with everyone and anyone you view from the ivory tower as opposing your authority.

"Nature at play" happens when you run your department so poorly, over 95% of the officers say morale could not get any lower.

"Nature at play" happens when you lie to the United Stated Federal District Court.

"Nature at play" happens when your own deputy chiefs retire as soon as they can despite being promoted to the #2 position in the department.

"Nature at play" happens when your credibility is eviscerated when you can't give the same answer to the same question asked over and over.  (We at the Eye have heard at least six reasons as to why DOJ is here. From "I don't know" to Schultz saying "City Council asked them to come" as he does in the above picture. Micro expression much Ray?)

"Nature at play" happens when you reduce recruiting standards and hire "not to be hired" applicants and find yourself the focus of national attention for your misconduct cases.

"Nature at play" happens when you lose support of your community because you cover up bad police shootings.

"Nature at play" happens when you lose even more support of the community because: it takes you three years to fire a cop for killing his wife, 3 months to fire a cop who ran a red light off duty and killed a young woman, but 1 day to fire a cop who anonymously posted on the Internet.

"Nature at play" happens when you violate the police officers oath of office and the resulting mayhem.

 

"Nature at play" happens when you show no remorse for all the lies, bad and evil things you have committed against your our department, staff and community.

 

"Nature at play" happens when you are angry and hateful...Go to Church or get some counseling.

 

Infidelity and/or adultery is not acceptable.

EXPOSE’: The Murder and Cover-up of a Small Town Girl; Tera Chavez (PART 3)

PART 3 OF 5 in THE EYE ON ALBUQUERQUE EXPOSE'

PART 3:LEVI CHAVEZ LEAVES "HIS" ISSUED APD GUN WITH HIS ESTRANGED WIFE

While an officer with Albuquerque’s Aviation Police, Levi Chavez, chose to carry a Kimber 1911 style pistol instead of the department issued Glock 17. After going through APD’s 6th Lateral Academy class and going through three months of OJT, Levi continued to carry his APD issued Glock 17 until about the patrol officer’s 2007 bid.  Thereafter, he carried his Kimber pistol. 

Under APD operation rules and procedures, only officers who are no longer probationary, or “P 2/C” status may apply and qualify to carry an approved non-department issued gun, such as, a 1911 styled gun.

A 1911 is generally configured to fire larger .45 caliber bullets and has a grip and thumb safety. In order to carry a non-department gun not only must the officer be non-probationary, but they must satisfy a list of department requirements. They must complete and pass a 100 bullet state regulated day and night qualification shoot. They must also have a form signed off by their entire chain of command: sergeant, lieutenant, captain, deputy chief, and chief detailing the gun and qualification scores. APD range staff must inspect the gun and document details of it including trigger pull weight. And to carry a 1911, the qualified officer must also take a half-day “1911 Transition Course” offered by APD range personnel. Then and only then is the officer qualified and allowed to carry his non-department pistol on duty and loaded with specific department issued ammunition.

Levi has said under oath both in depositions and in open court that he had approval to carry his Kimber but this is refuted by an absence of any documentation at APD’s range showing he qualified with the gun, he didn’t take the course, he didn’t get the form signed off on, didn’t take the training, and of course he was still a probationary employee.

Where was the APD issued Glock?

If we are to believe Levi Chavez’s version of the events of Saturday, October 20, 2007, his loaded and chambered Glock was sitting in an unlocked armoire at his and Tera’s home in Los Lunas. Levi Chavez left his APD issued gun with a person he stated during trial; was "bugging him." We are asked to believe that he intentionally kept a loaded gun that fires by the simple action of a trigger pull in an unlocked cabinet on a shelf that is about waist high and in reach of children. And that out of sadness and desperation Tera killed herself with that APD Glock 17.

With the children out of town and in Santa Rosa, Tera prepared for a weekend to put closure with Levi. She had told friends and family they were going to have one last go around and finalize details about co-parenting their kids. But once again, Levi did not fulfill his responsibilities and failed to show up Friday night for his weekend with Tera. He spent it with a girlfriend APD Officer Deborah Romero. Then after his Saturday evening dispatch at 1909 hours to the mobile home on Central SW with Russell Perea, Levi seems to have disappeared until Sunday morning when he wakes up in bed with Deborah Romero. But in testimony that is against her own interests, Romero states she does not know when Levi Chavez climbed in bed with her early Sunday morning.

Back in Los Lunas, Tera seems to have set the house up for a guest. She had called in sick to take the day off and spend with somebody. Perhaps it was for Levi like they planned. But when Levi once again failed her Friday night, perhaps it was for somebody else. A neighbor confirms that when they were backing out of their driveway Saturday they saw a marked APD police car also backing out of Tera Chavez’s driveway with Levi at the wheel.

But either way, Saturday evening Tera changed into her sleepwear, climbed into bed, and settled down to watch television keeping the remote control close by. No glass of wine nearby, no marijuana, no cell phone, no notepad and no Kleenex tissues. Kitchen organized with no mess.

The house was clean, and it was ready for the return of her children on Sunday, October 21, 2007. But by then Tera would be deceased.

During the night, the Glock issued by APD to Levi Chavez would be thrust in Tera’s mouth, fired and then left on her lap in an effort to appear as if she had done this herself. As we have said before; women do not shot themselves in the face or head.  The pain is in the heart and yes, being vein, they want to still look pretty.

But just as Levi Chavez had made mistakes and lied about being authorized to carry a gun when he wasn’t, when he lied to other APD women about relationships, when he lied about his whereabouts on duty, when he lied about work he did/didn’t do as a field cop, when he falsified APD documents, when he lied to his supervisors, and when he’d been so careful and thorough to show people where he was and what he was doing, there would be glaring mistakes at the murder scene on Ash Lane in Los Lunas….and there would be more mistakes by others sworn to uphold the law. 

APD Implosion: Outgoing APD Chief Schultz gives excuses interview

Yesterday all the major news stations reported about the termination of a female APD officer who allegedly had ties to the Eye On Albuquerque. REALLY? This is what APD is concerned about; a small time public opinion blog like the Eye On Albuquerque?

APD is not concerned with the many murdered women dug up on the Westside? All the police officer involved shootings? Manning levels down below 800 when the city is authorized 1,100? A department entrenched with infidelity? A former officer on trial for murder? A Chief of Police who lied to a United States Federal District Court? A newly appointed Interim Chief who was caught lying during a termination hearing? Small children dying in hot cars left unattended? How about the police officer we were told about yesterday who killed himself??The list goes on and on. But APD is not concerned with any of these issues; they are putting all their efforts into a person who may have exercised her First Amendment Rights.

According to Schultz, “It can be a very destructive tool. And when I say destructive, is when you challenge the credibility and the impartialness required of being a police officer.” If this is true, the most “destructive tool” has been Schultz. He lost all his credibility and impartialness when he lied in the Sam Costales case. This all amounts to just another excuse by Schultz to be a monster; a bully to a female officer.

What about transparency? If APD, the City of Albuquerque and Mayor Berry told the truth; the Eye On Albuquerque would not exist.  Due to the lies and cover-ups, the Eye On Albuquerque is thriving. Perhaps if Perry, Berry and Schultz were honest and up-front about City business; there would be no need for the Eye On Albuquerque.

What ever happened to First Amendment Rights?  Freedom of Speech? When a government and/or its’ agent tries to abridge the speech of a person or the people because it hurt their feelings it is simply wrong.

Why was this female officer terminated? What APD is accusing her of is not illegal and does not Per se violate APD’s social media policy as pointed out by the media. Was APD accusing this female officer of lying? Then the question becomes, what ever happened to Schultz’s new policy that makes it okay to lie? It must be nice to fire anyone who has a mind of their own just because you got your feelings hurt.

SIDEBAR

Ironically; Interim Chief Alan Banks personally called one of the Mayoral Candidates (Paul Heh’s) campaign workers and asked this worker to surrender a computer to him because he thought she had ties to the Eye On Albuquerque. Targeting civilians and now their own employees? Why would a Deputy Chief of Police of one of the Nation’s largest police departments personally try to steal a computer that belongs to the Heh campaign? Why would a deputy chief abuse his position and authority? Now a female officer is terminated during a politically charged year.  Why all the fanfare? Is it because the Eye On Albuquerque is supporting Heh for Mayor? Are these acts the independent acts of APD or have they been given marching orders by Mayor Berry who is headed to a run-off and eventually the loss of his position as mayor?

END SIDEBAR

The hypocrisy, nepotism, ignorance and fascism of APD’s upper echelon are disgusting. If the rules that APD has in place were followed none of the people at the top of APD would be there, including Schultz. “Do as I say; not as I do.”  And Schultz is wondering why Berry told him to leave?

The cure for APD is simple: True leadership is desperately needed at the top of APD. Leadership 101, check your ego in at the door. A police department that is run by one who acts childish is a recipe for ruining “the organization” and APD is proof of that. Be honest and tell the truth.  Give the facts as they are known. Stop lying!

Schultz is trying frantically to “get even” with everyone before he leaves like a disgruntled child on the playground. If Schultz would have looked in the mirror and realized he had become a tyrant, his time with APD would not have been filled with controversy but a legacy of an honest man who gave it his all. Schultz hit the destruct button a long time ago and the implosion started. Hopefully the new chief will have the knowledge, skills, ability and other attributes to lead APD out of the hell hole it is in now.  Currently, the only blessing is Schultz will be gone shortly.

Our apologies to our readers but this issue had to be addressed now.  Part three of our five part Expose will continue tomorrow.

EXPOSE’: The Murder and Cover-up of a Small Town Girl; Tera Chavez (PART 2)

PART 2 OF 5 in THE EYE ON ALBUQUERQUE EXPOSE'

PART 2: ONE SHIFT

With a six week lateral, or transfer, academy and three months of on-the-job training under his belt and behind him, Levi Chavez was ready to hit the streets. As a new hire, Levi was still a probationary officer, a "P 2 C" and that meant significant restrictions and exposure. As a probationary employee he was not bound to the same protections offered to fully classified employees as he was technically still under review. This meant that if at any time his employer and department director, Ray Schultz, felt his job was insufficient; his employment could be terminated without the usual due process protections offered to regular classified employees.

This is not without significance. All new hires are told that until they complete one year of probationary employment, they have significantly fewer protections than other non-probationary employees. This gives the city a chance to make sure the employee is indeed a productive member of the workforce and, if they are not, the ability to send them on their way and fire them. New hires understand this going into the position and generally do their best to avoid generating any controversy.

Under §3-1-8 of the City of Albuquerque Ordinances asserts that "A probationary employee does not have a legitimate entitlement to continued employment and may be terminated for any or no reason." Despite knowing this and being ten months into his probationary period, Levi Chavez took a bizarre approach to his "duties" during his shift on October 20, 2007. Even to the casual observer, one will notice a distinct deviation in his activities that fateful night.

Assigned to what is now the Southwest Area Command, Levi Chavez was attached to Team 5 under the supervision of then Sergeant Gabe Mares (Mares is now an APD lieutenant). Team 5 is one of three police squads assigned to "swing" shift which at that time worked 2 PM to midnight, four nights a week, with their week starting on Wednesday and their last workday being Saturday. Without a car, or at least claiming not to have one in service, Levi teamed up with an even newer officer to APD, Russell Perea. Sgt. Mares was off that night and as our Eyes have told us, Mares is a highly devoted and active member in his church and is routinely performing church related functions frequently while on-duty. (Lt. Mares' career remains distinctive in the frequent happenstance of disturbing and high profile events. Three years later it would be under Sgt. Mares' supervision that an event eerily similar to what unfolds with Tera Chavez occurs but with prominent civil rights attorney Mary Han and a year later again it would be under Sgt. Mares' supervision that former APD Officer Matt Kindle is caught having a lunch time tryst with a prostitute while on camera.)

Paired up with Perea, Levi rode shotgun while Perea drove. Computer Aided Dispatch logs indicate Levi logged on to the system at 1311 hours with the rider "Saint Michael." He the logged "75" which is an out-of-service code officers usually log when they are in briefing which is where Levi should've been heading to. The pair's activities, assigned as E139, took on the following assignments for what would be a most fateful shift:

At 1445 Hours they went to an audible alarm, or a "52," dispatch to an address on Sundoro Place NW. They logged en-route to it at 1512 hours, 27 minutes after being dispatched to it. They then arrived at the location at 1529 hours, 44 minutes after being dispatched to it. They then cleared it as a false alarm, or "89," at 1546 hours, or 61 minutes after being dispatched to it. No report taken.

At 1546 hours, they were dispatched to a criminal sexual penetration call or a "27-2" and were sent to an address on Camino Contento NW. They logged en-route and arrived at the same time of 1546 hours. They remained on this call, until 1611 hours, or about 25 minutes. No report taken.

At 1627 hours, they were dispatched to another audible alarm call to an address on Molten Place NW. They arrived there at 1638 hours, or 11 minutes after being dispatched. They then cleared it as a false alarm at 1650 hours, or 33 minutes after being dispatched. No report taken.

At 1650 hours they were dispatched to the Wal-Mart on Coors in reference to vandalism, "38" call. They logged 4 minutes after being dispatched at 1654 hours and then cleared it at 1700 hours, or 10 minutes after being dispatched. No report taken.

At 1703 hours the pair was dispatched to an accident without injuries, a "44," to a location on Ladera NW. They arrived about 12 minutes after being dispatched at 1715 hours. They remained on this call until they cleared it with a police report at 1757 hours, or 54 minutes after being dispatched.

At 1806 they were dispatched to a disturbance call, a "39," to a location on Bright Star NW. They arrived 13 minutes after being dispatched at 1819 hours and then cleared it without a report at 1909 hours, or 63 minutes after being dispatched.

So far the shift seemed fairly steady and the pair had taken six calls over the course of just over three hours. They had little down time between calls, or at least while they stayed logged on calls, and as soon as they cleared a call their dispatched assigned them a new one almost immediately. They were efficient and they seemed to pace their work steadily and remained in control of it. Things were about to change though.

At 1909 hours, the E139 was dispatched to assault/battery call, a "27-4," at a location on Central NW. They logged en route immediately and arrived at 1918 hours, about 9 minutes after being dispatched. At 1944 hours they updated their location to the Westside Substation, or "WSSS," with 1 person in custody, 26 minutes after arriving at the location on Central. They remained at the substation until updating their location at the Prisoner Transport Center at 2117 hours, about 93 minutes after arriving at their substation. They remained at the PTC at 4th/Roma until they cleared the call with a report at 2152 hours, or 128 minutes after arriving on the scene at the location on Central.

Except there was no "they" at the PTC, only Russell Perea was seen on the PTC's video monitor and only Russell Perea's property inventory and prisoner transfer sheet was signed at about 2135 hours. Perea asserts that Levi  remained at the Westside substation where he completed the report and tagged into APD's evidence system a single tape from his duty belt mounted audio recorder. The police report consists of a face sheet without a narrative and a single half page written narrative supplemental form.

E139 then logged out on lunch, or "61," at 2152 hours at "Chiles" and remained there for 50 minutes until they logged themselves "75" at 2242 hours and "WSSS Evidence/42s." They remained logged this way until they simply logged off at 2357 hours, 3 minutes before midnight. Doing what, nobody seems to know and neither Perea nor Chavez can adequately explain what they were doing. Even more surprisingly, IA investigators from APD even failed to identify this gap in their review, the pair's activity that night.

From the moment E139 had arrived at the location on Central NW, they had remained unavailable for service, unresponsive to any supervisor, unresponsive to other dispatches for 279 minutes, or over four and a half hours. E139 was unaccountable to anybody.

Aside from the call Russell Perea and Levi Chavez took on Central at 1918 hours, there is no verifiable history of where Levi was after Russell left him to book the suspect at the PTC. For a pair that tore through six calls earlier, did all they could to avoid writing any reports, they immediately changed pace, arrested and charged a male offender for throwing small religious figurines (probably a St. Michael) at his sister. They then milked a call to the end of shift with, as expected, no accountability from any supervisors. And in that 4.5 hours, one officer drove a suspect to the PTC while Levi spent the rest of the night writing a two page report and tagging a single item into evidence. And then after logging out for dinner at Chiles they returned to the substation to do just that.

After being so efficient with their calls, they now exhibit the type of conduct a probationary employee would most fear: neglect of duty. But was this neglect or was it design?

Tera Chavez's home as mapped out via MapQuest is just over 30 miles from the Southwest Substation located at 6404 Los Volcanes Road SW and is almost a straight shot down Coors SW. There is nothing in the record by Perea or Chavez that accounts for this gap in their time. The task to complete the police report and tag evidence doesn't cover it. Booking a non-combative suspect doesn't cover it.

The Office of the Medical Investigator put Tera's time of death between 2200 hours on 10/20 to 0400 hours on 10/21. Did Tera Chavez die during the time that Levi Chavez was unaccountable? Is it a coincidence that this is exactly the time that Levi is unaccounted for? Yet Levi would have us believe she sent him a text the day of 10/21 indicating she was afraid she was going to hurt herself...? If Tera Chavez died on 10/20; who sent that text message to Levi Chavez?