BELEN — A portion of Becker Avenue in Belen was placed on lockdown for a few hours Tuesday as police worked to defuse what they thought could turn into a dangerous situation.
The incident began the night before when officers were called out to the neighborhood of 200 Becker Avenue regarding shots being fired.
Belen Police Chief James Harris said a business owner called police Monday evening, saying a man, later identified as 31-year-old Joseph Vigil, living across the street had been shooting from his porch. The chief said officers were able to view video from the business that showed someone shooting from the residence.
“We found wadding from shotgun shells in the road,” Harris said of the Monday evening incident. “As officers approached the house, they found spent shotgun shell casings in the driveway.”
The police chief said when the officers made their way to the front door of the residence, they found the front door had been blown out. Harris said the officers tried making contact with Vigil, but he refused to come out.
“Because we had determined he was only a danger to himself, we cleared the scene,” Harris said.
On Tuesday morning, Harris said he received a call from the same business owner asking for officers to be there when they opened.
“Myself and Sgt. Jerome Cordova went to the area because the employees weren’t comfortable with this individual across the street,” Harris said. “When we got there, the guy was sitting on the front porch but went back inside. The business owner had told us they saw him put a shotgun down his pants.”
Harris said it was “too much of risk” not to try and confront the man because he “has some mental health issues, and was definitely a danger to the community.”
“When Sgt. Mario Vallejos got there, he was able to build a rapport with the man, and continued to talk to him,” Harris said. “He was able to get him to the porch, where he showed him he was not armed.”
Vigil allowed Vallejos and Deputy Chief Jose Natividad to approach house, and they continued to talk to him. Eventually, he surrendered to law enforcement.
Harris said Vigil was transported to the Valencia County Detention Center. He is charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct. The police chief said additional weapons charges may be filed against Vigil.
Clara Garcia is the editor and publisher of the Valencia County News-Bulletin.
She is a native of the city of Belen, beginning her journalism career at the News-Bulletin in 1998 as the crime and courts reporter. During her time at the paper, Clara has won numerous awards for her writing, photography and typography and design both from the National Newspaper Association and the New Mexico Press Association.
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April 18, 2024
