Albuquerque Journal
Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies spent days talking to witnesses and family members of a woman found dead in the North Valley in early November.
When the interviews finally led investigators to a suspect, they knew exactly where to find him: the Metropolitan Detention Center, where the suspected killer had spent five days awaiting trial for allegedly stealing an Albuquerque Police Department bait vehicle Oct. 28, according to BCSO spokesman Sgt. Sam White.
Arnold “Popeye” Candelaria, 34, was charged Friday with an open count of murder and tampering with evidence. Candelaria’s girlfriend, Elizabeth Rodriguez, 33, was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head around 4 p.m. on Nov. 2 at her house on the 200 block of Ranchitos Road NW.
Rodriguez’s body, wrapped in blankets, lay there for at least five days, White said.
Candelaria is also suspected of trying to shampoo blood stains out of the carpet.
Because Candelaria was sitting in jail, facing charges of auto theft, larceny and conspiracy, White said deputies could take their time in building up sufficient evidence in order to charge him with murder.
“We knew he wasn’t a danger to the public, and it allowed us to conclude our investigation,” White said.
That investigation included interviews with family, witnesses and neighbors who said they saw Rodriguez bolt from her North Valley home on a separate occasion as Candelaria chased and threatened her.
Candelaria was convicted in 2001 and 2003 on domestic violence charges, in addition to earlier convictions for cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking, according to online court records. White could not say how long Candelaria and Rodriguez had been together.
White said additional evidence was found that implicated Candelaria, but he would not say what it was or what information detectives gleaned through jail-house interviews with the suspect.
Candelaria is being held on a no-bond hold. His first felony appearance for the auto theft charge is set for Nov. 30.
Copyright 2012 Albuquerque Journal