Schools Shut; Homes Searched (NM Fugative alert)

SWAT teams searched more than a dozen homes, three schools were placed on lockdown, family members were questioned and a $50,000 reward was offered.

All to find Michael Paul Astorga, who police say shot Bernalillo County Deputy James McGrane Jr. in the head with a Glock 10 mm handgun during a traffic stop Wednesday morning in Tijeras.

Finding Astorga, 29, could prove to be a challenge despite all the resources going toward his capture. He has gang affiliations, connections with people who are willing to hide him and is experienced at being on the run, police say.

"It is safe to say he is a tough catch," said Tia Bland, a New Mexico Department of Corrections spokeswoman. The state agency, along with APD, had already been looking for Astorga since November in connection with another homicide.

On Thursday, police stepped up their efforts by offering $50,000 in federal money for information leading to his arrest.

"He has a lot of holes he can hide in and that is what he is doing now," Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White said. "He has connections, but so do we. "There is nothing we won't do to catch him."

Astorga lived at the rural home in the mountains with his pregnant wife. He changed his name and was smart about how he moved in and out of the city, police say. He went to a check cashing company and bought a repossessed truck. The license plate was still registered to the previous owner.

Following the ambush Astorga drove back to his hideout in a rural area about 15 miles south on 337, where he dumped the truck, they said. Police have detained and questioned Astorga's parents, his in-laws and his wife.

Some background on Astorga a man with a long criminal history, gang membership, and being sought in one of the cities numerous 2005 homicides. The question also is Astorga an illegal alien?

URL: http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_local/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19858_4561491,00.html
Suspect in deputy's slaying was fugitive: Man was wanted for a November homicide
By Maggie Shepard
Tribune Reporter
March 22, 2006

Updated 1:01 p.m. TIJERAS - An Albuquerque man suspected in a 2005 killing is wanted in this morning's shooting death of a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department deputy, Sheriff Darren White said.

The deputy, whose name has not been released, was shot and killed around 12:45 a.m. after pulling over a pickup near the intersection of N.M. 337 and N.M. 333.

SUSPECT
Michael Paul Astorga
• Age: 29
• Approx. 5-foot-11, 160 pounds
• Numerous visible tattoos
• Armed and extremely dangerous
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers: (505) 843-7867

RELATED SUSPECT NEWS

November 10, 2005
Car feud at the heart of slaying?

November 8, 2005
Arrest warrant issued in shooting
Tipsters led police to the suspect in an apparent drive-by.

"Words cannot describe the heartbreak," White said. "We will not rest until we catch this murderer."

Shortly after the driver pulled onto the shoulder of southbound N.M. 337, residents reported hearing two gunshots and seeing a light-colored pickup heading south into the Manzano Mountains.

White later said deputies believe the truck may have contained two men.

Several hundred officers from at least five law enforcement agencies scoured the area for clues today in a light snowfall.

Around 8:15 a.m., sheriff's detectives got information that led them to suspect Michael Paul Astorga, White said.

"We believe Mr. Astorga is desperate and on the run and very unpredictable," White told reporters.

White described Astorga, 29, as a Hispanic man who stands about 5-foot-11 and weighs 160 pounds, with numerous visible tattoos.

"He is armed and we believe extremely dangerous," White said.

Deputies are at the same time outraged and despondent about the shooting, the sheriff said.

The deputy had been with the department for less than five years. He leaves behind a wife and an extended family, White added.

The deputy had alerted Bernalillo County dispatchers at 12:45 a.m. that he was pulling over a vehicle, and called in a description and its license number.

(Charlotte Hill/Tribune)
The driver pulled onto the shoulder of N.M. 337, also known as south N.M. 14, directly across from Canyon Crossroads Animal Hospital and a quarter-mile south of old Route 66.

Why the deputy pulled over the vehicle isn't clear, White said.

But within five minutes after the initial call, residents near the intersection called 911 and reported hearing two gunshots.

They also reported seeing a pickup speeding south into Cedro Canyon.

Backup deputies arrived minutes later, and found the officer on the ground, White said. They attempted to revive the fallen deputy in front of his vehicle, without success, he said.

Based on the slain deputy's original call, a search quickly began for the vehicle, a light-gold 1991 Dodge pickup bearing New Mexico plates with the No. 459 CDS.

Detectives worked through the pre-dawn hours trying to track the vehicle, White said. Through a series of interviews and searches of several homes, they learned the truck had changed hands at least once, he said, and Astorga was the last person known to have it.

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department deputies stop a truck on El Pueblo Road east of Edith Boulevard Northeast this morning. The stop was part of the manhunt for the suspect in the fatal shooting of a deputy today. The deputy, whose name has not been released, was shot during a traffic stop around 12:45 a.m. near the intersection of N.M. 337 and N.M. 333. (Michael J. Gallegos/Tribune)
It doesn't appear the truck was stolen, but the registered owner and Astorga didn't appear to have any personal connection, White said.

By 9 a.m., White had identified Astorga as the prime suspect and said a search was well under way.

"Make no mistake about it, this is a manhunt," he said.

Astorga, of the 9000 block of San Nicholas Avenue Northwest, is also wanted in the Nov. 5 shooting death of Candy Ray Martinez in the 2300 block of Commercial Street Northeast. A warrant was issued in November for his arrest.

Police say Astorga shot Martinez in a feud over a vehicle. Astorga's family told The Tribune the conflict dated to 1996, when a 1959 El Camino lowrider belonging to Astorga was stolen while he was in prison.

Astorga is on probation after serving six years of an 11-year prison sentence on charges of having and selling drugs, stealing cars and property crimes, according to court records.

In 1996, Astorga and his younger brother, Matthew, were tried in the shooting death of Jose M. Sigala, 27, near Albuquerque High School.

Michael Astorga was acquitted; his brother was found guilty, according to court records. Matthew Astorga spent about five years in prison and was released on probation after pleading guilty during a retrial of the case.

The search for Michael Astorga and possibly one other man ballooned into a regional manhunt during the morning. White said 200 to 250 officers were involved in searches in the East Mountains and Albuquerque.

Members of the Sheriff's Department, Albuquerque Police Department and State Police cruised the Tijeras area and scoured the site for evidence, deputies.

State Police were posted along I-40 near the Tijeras exit this morning and other patrol cars could be scene driving up and down N.M. 337, which was blocked.

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department deputies and investigators scour the scene where a deputy was shot and killed early this morning. Nearly two dozen patrol cars from several law enforcement agencies were at the site, near the intersection of N.M 337 and N.M. 333 in Tijeras. (Michael J. Gallegos/Tribune)
By midmorning, the law enforcement officers were joined by the FBI and U.S. Marshal's Service, as well as gang patrol officers and even parole officers, White said.

At least one vehicle was pulled over and its occupants held at gunpoint while officers checked their identities. That occurred around 11:30 a.m. near Edith Boulevard and El Pueblo Road Northeast.

Meanwhile, life in Tijeras came to a virtual standstill for several hours. Schools in the East Mountains were closed for the day. Albuquerque Public Schools spokesman Joe Escobedo said one of the area's school bus contractors was on the wrong side of the roadblock, and the other contractor couldn't reach some students.

White said calling the deputy's family was one of the most difficult things he had ever done.

"It doesn't get any harder than this," he said at the scene. "I'm vacillating between intense anger and sadness."

It was the first time he's had to make such a call since being elected sheriff.

"I hope and pray," White said, "I never have to do this again.

White said the Sheriff's Department has about seven other deputies who regularly work in the department's East Mountains substation. All are distraught, he said.

"It's been the toughest time for all of them," he said.

The killing of a law enforcement officer is among the seven aggravating circumstances necessary to seek the death penalty in New Mexico

Whoa!! There was a second person in the P/U truck at the time of the killing:

Posted: 3/24/2006 9:00:00 AM Warrant provides more details of deputy’s murder Source: KRQE News 13
ALBUQUERQUE -- News 13 has learned more about what happened during the traffic stop in Tijeras where Bernalillo County Deputy James McGrane was shot just after midnight Wednesday. According to the arrest warrants, a Glock 10 millimeter pistol was used to shoot the deputy. The arrest warrant also confirms there were two men were in the fleeing pickup. The arrest warrant states that suspect Michael Astorga shot Deputy McGrane in the head.
At a press conference with federal and local agencies Thursday afternoon, Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White announced a 50-thousand dollar for information or tips leading to the arrest of Astorga.
Various leads have led investigators to numerous spots around central New Mexico. Complicating matters is the fact that they are looking for two people. 29 year old Michael Astorga, the alleged gunman, and whoever was with him when Deputy McGrane was shot and killed.
According to Lt. Manuel Gonzales III, Bernalillo County Tactical Commander, the New Mexico State Police earlier had a tip that led dozens of officer to a spot near McIntosh in Torrance County Thursday afternoon around 1:30. They were informed that Astorga or his accomplice at a nearby home. But they soon learned they had bad information. ”We're just staging in the event something materializes into a search for us,” said Lt. Gonzales III
At about 6:00 Thursday evening investigators acted on another tip. This tip led police, deputies, and SWAT team members to an area just off Highway 306. They did not make contact at that location either.
More than one hundred state and federal officers are involved in the search. They searched Astorga's home in the East Mountains Wednesday. News 13 has learned from the arrest warrant that it is the home Astorga shared with his pregnant girlfriend.
David Linthicum, Bernalillo County Deputy Chief, told News 13 that “The bottom line is that with the help of the community and what's going on, we'll be able to catch him.”
Investigators ask that if anyone has information regarding the whereabouts of Michael Astorga they can call the toll free tip line at 866-641-tips or 866-641-8477.

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