The Piercing Truth

This is right from the dictionary and seems to describe Albuquerque, Berry and Schultz. Fascism (f ash ,izem) noun An authoritarian right wing system of government and/or social organization. (in general use) extreme right wing, authoritarian, chauvinistic and/or intolerant views or practices. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one group over another, national, ethnic, especially social strata or monetarily; a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach. Compliments of one of our Eyes

Jul 30, 2013

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.

 

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW!!! Why didn't Hindi have the balls to blast Levi???? He story to Ray-ray, "I thought my wife was getting raped, yes the bullets just kept coming out of my gun"!!! They both died??? Do I get my 3 days off!!!!
Steve would have saved a lot of heartache!!

Anonymous said...

BOOM! You have once again cleared the fences with that hit! Bravo Eye! Your information and accuracy in this story is superb. It is unfortunate that the elation I experience at this time in this story has come at the cost of a beautiful life and family sorrows within the Cordova family. Levi has cast himself into the title of poster child of APD. Minus the murder he committed, Levi's life and actions are common practice in the Albuquerque Police Department. From the 5th floor to the (horse barn) known as the Comm Center, and whether it be in stairwells of the main or car hoods in the parking lot, APD is a disease worse than cancer. Hell is alive and well in the home of the blue.
On a personal note: I would like to say a fuck you shout out to:
Ray Shultz, Allen Banks, former D/C Mike Castro(not recently commented upon here in the EYE), Ron Olivas, former Lt. Joe Byers(not commented upon here in the EYE), Levi Chavez, Mary Molina Mescal (not commented upon here in the EYE) who was also the former lover of former Mayor Marty Chavez when he was still married to Margaret. Bad habits die hard APD!
(side note)Is Marty Chavez related to Levi Chavez?

Anonymous said...

This is just NATURE AT PLAY!

Why won't Berry go in front of a TV camera to explain this comment by Schultz? We all know why, he is scared to death of Ray and company.

Berry has no courage.

Anonymous said...

This is just NATURE AT PLAY!

Why won't Berry go in front of a TV camera to explain this comment by Schultz? We all know why, he is scared to death of Ray and company.

Berry has no courage.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the honorable job you have done for Tera and her family. She is a martyr, a victim of corrupt/gangster conduct by APD (and helpers). Hopefully one day someone will do a thorough job exposing the mess in UNM Engineering student Kerry Lewis' murder, too. Bless you.

Anonymous said...

Might be interesting to know who notarized Levi's affidavit as to all of the original keys to the truck being accounted for since a set of original keys showed up with it in Mexico.

Anonymous said...

Valencia County DA is on the News today saying how taxpayers got their monies worth ($45K) in the criminal prosecution of Levi Chavez.

He and his entire staff in both Valencia and Sandoval Counties should be fired for misconduct and charged with defrauding the taxpayers.

Anonymous said...

Dawne has a better shot of suing the original complainant and that would be the Sgt's wife.

Anonymous said...

The entire Levi Chavez case is sick... He as we'll as any others never should have been hired by APD. The department was way too low on officers so they hired anyone and everyone at the time. Plus they were giving money to current employees of APD if an applicant made it into an academy,which should cause the alarm bells to sound. We are now stuck with some of the worst of the worst and they will slowly rise to the top of the pile until they are eventually weeded out by victims of their poor police work and they are sued. In the end we wil all have to pay for the misdoings of poor choices by the people that were in command at the time. But as Schultz and others have said... Go ahead and sue me I will be long gone..

Anonymous said...

Holy cow Steve actually caught Levi in his house? Oh to be a fly on the wall when that happened. Levi and Heather deserve each other. Heather will some day see his true colors my guess is when he starts prowling around and he will dump her for a newer shiner model. Remember he wanted a Cadi. Heather is a used up Volkswagon.

Anonymous said...

Heather's got a cute tattoo on her arm....she truly is Levi's property. skank!!!!

Anonymous said...

Never mind that Perea and Chavez knew each other in high school. And that Hindi (now Chavez) was whoring with AFD as well. Chavez is probably not directly related to Marty but the Chavez family is full of corruption, liars and coincidentally 2 other "suicides" with department issued weapons. Chavez is a weasel, a liar, a thief and a murderer. I was appalled that he was not found guilty but when you mix in Serna and Chavez's history with Eichwald, not surprised at all. Levi murdered Tera and got away with it. Chavez conveniently disappeared for hours during which he went to Los Lunas, shoved the gun down her throat and then showered.erased and composed text messages and went back to Albuquerque. Piece of shit. There was so much that was not allowed at trial that would have easily convinced jurors of his guilt. And the picture of him with the rosary is such crap, disgusting. He should have played with his penis the same way, it would've had more of an effect. The only one in the whole trial who was honest was Tera's father, who was aware of the mental abuse inflicted upon his daughter, time & time again by Levi and knew Tera had dropped a dime on the little fucker. I would hope it is a small percentage of APD that behaves the same way however, I have seen many APD officers over the years trying to get into anybody's pants that will take them. Sad.

Anonymous said...

It's disgusting that Levi is running free. But, it will catch up eventually in one way or the other. I feel bad that the Cordova family has had to endure this nightmare for years.

48 Hours Mystery needs to get ahold of this case and expose the crime and prosecution for what it was; terrible.

Anonymous said...

Please advise what the tattoo is.......

Anonymous said...

So if the Chavez family is in debt up to there eyeballs, how is it that they can open a bar??

Bars do a lot of cash business, sounds like a good way to launder ill gotten gains that have buried for years.

Anonymous said...

That piece of shit Levi failed Tera as a husband with all his infidelity and ultimatly by murdering her. He failed his children as a father, instead of being a dad he was to involved in his own life. All the tramp dogs that where sleeping with Levi failed Tera and her children only for their own self gradification instead of having morals and values. The judicial system failed in his criminal by not serving justice for her murder and by not keeping our community safe from this murderer. This sociopath is a threat to anyone around him. APD failed Tera and her family by allowing all these officers to taint the evidence and for the ones that have lied to protect him and for the Chief to allow a temporary employee to stay on the payroll and cause us tax payers alot of money. Their is a website justicefortera.com that are taking donations to help with the civil suit. Hopefully we can come together as a community and have justice served for Tera and her family.

Anonymous said...

The tattoo says LEVI??? Well maybe when he drops her she can fix it to read LEVIS and start selling the pants... Oh and DATELINE was present during the trial so look for it to be broadcast one day soon. APD on another DATELINE... Right up there with the West Mesa Murders..

Anonymous said...

If a civil trial does occur Chavez will be found responsible for her death, as in the OJ civil case. Lets all make sure the Cordova family has the funds to hire a GREAT attorney from another state. What would really be wonderful is if an attorney would step up and take it without wanting any payment what a HERO he/she would be.

Anonymous said...

At 6:30.... Isn't that what the DA's office is there for? And so far it seems their atty is kicking the piss out of everybody who gets in their way...

Anonymous said...

@7/30; 5:03 pm: Careful - she'll drink a gallon of Ripple, jump on her broom and hunt you down.

Anonymous said...

Did ya read the Journal today? Levi can't afford an attorney and he wanted some of the evidence returned to him for sentimental reasons.. Didn't he testify that he didn't want to be bothered by Tera so he turned his phone off? But now he wants a laptop and a cellphone that contain pornographic videos of her BOY he's really a romantic at heart what a guy...

Anonymous said...

Levi needs to hit up his cougar mother-in-law for some extra bucks, so knows he might have tasted that before Heather, like mother like daughter......

Anonymous said...

Cougar mother in law more like rabid dog.... Nice over bite on her. GROWL.......