Frustration with homelessness, crime voiced at town hall

Gordon Wilson was shot and killed the morning of Aug. 6 in what police have described as a crime of opportunity.

The suspect in the case, 38-year-old Zachary Babitz, was released from state prison on parole in March. He was arrested Aug. 11 in Las Cruces after police say he committed an armed robbery and carjacking in that city. He is currently in custody in the Doña Ana County jail and will be extradited to Santa Fe at a later date. If convicted, he may face life in prison.

Less than two weeks before Wilson’s death, an employee was shot in the head while working at the Sonic Drive-in on Cerrillos Road late on July 25. The victim, Angel Daniel-Albiery Avila Morales, is slowly recovering, and a GoFundMe created to support him has raised more than $13,000 of a $20,000 goal.

Mariano Romero, 30, is facing charges in connection with the shooting. The restaurant has been closed since the incident occurred.

The shooting outside Best Buy was brought up a number of times throughout the night, with attendees saying such a random act of violence in broad daylight at one of the busiest shopping centers in the city had left them shaken.

“He didn’t think he was going to die that day,” one man said.

Several people said they or people they knew had interacted with Babitz shortly before the incident.

Crystal Armijo, who works in loss prevention at the Albertsons on Zafarano Drive, said Babitz appeared to be casing the store about 45 minutes before the shooting.

Armijo said shoplifting has become especially severe over the past year, and it’s been hard to combat.

“We don’t even call the police anymore, because by the time they get here, they’re already gone,” she said.

The Interfaith Community Shelter at Pete’s Place and homelessness more broadly were also subjects of discussion at the meeting.

Several people said they believed Pete’s Place should be moved from its location on Harrison Road, while others said they did not want it to end up on the south side of town.

“Nobody wants this in their backyard, I understand that, but we have to work together,” said one man who said he lives near Pete’s Place and was unhappy with how it is operating.

Concerns about violence and drug use in the area surrounding the shelter have been ongoing. Last month, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham met with residents and discussed placing a temporary New Mexico State Police substation near the shelter as a crime deterrent.

A temporary mobile command post has been set up in the car dealership parking lot across Harrison Street from Pete’s Place. New Mexico State Police spokesman Wilson Silver wrote in an email Thursday it will be there through Aug. 28.

“We have a command post that is in the area of Pete’s Place where we have advocates working as a resource to provide services to the homeless population and the people we come in contact with,” he wrote. “It is open approximately from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the latest.”

At Garcia’s invitation, several people gave brief remarks on work their organizations are doing to address crime in the city, including Santa Fe Police Chief Paul Joye, Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce CEO Bridget Dixson and state Rep. Tara Lujan, D-Santa Fe.

“This is not the Santa Fe I grew up in,” Lujan said.

Lujan said she plans to revisit during the 2025 regular legislative session several bills Lujan Grisham proposed but that weren’t taken up by lawmakers at a one-day special session earlier this summer, including a proposal to revise the state’s civil and criminal competency laws.

A number of speakers said while they supported the police, they were upset by how long it had taken them to receive a response after calls to 911. Frustrations with long wait times for nonemergency calls and problems with dispatch prioritizing calls incorrectly have come up at a number of recent public forums.

Joye said his department currently has 23 vacancies and that its full capacity of 169 officers would still be below the recommended staffing for a city of Santa Fe’s size. He discussed several efforts the department is pursuing, including trying to secure funding for a shot spotter, a device that would automatically track and report gunshots to the department.

Santa Fe County Commissioner Anna Hansen and City Councilor Lee Garcia were at the event; none of the other city councilors or Mayor Alan Webber attended. A number of people said they were upset Webber was not at the town hall.

“He should be here,” one woman said to heavy applause.

Tensions between different parts of the city were on display throughout the night, particularly regarding the future of Pete’s Place and a recent council vote to fund a $750,000 pilot program for security guards in the downtown area.

Garcia voted for the downtown security funding, which passed 8-1 at the Aug. 8 City Council meeting, but said at Thursday’s meeting the city needs to increase security services for the Cerrillos Road and Airport Road corridors as well.

“That’s not the only part of town that needs help,” he said of downtown.

Albert Jaramillo said investing more resources in crime prevention downtown would wind up hurting other parts of the city.

“All that’s doing is pushing the crime more this way,” he said to applause.

Garcia said he will be calling for the city to spend all of its unanticipated gross receipts tax revenue from the past fiscal year on public health and public safety initiatives.

The city brought in $16.5 million in unanticipated gross receipts revenue last year, which was spent on a range of items. Garcia said he expects the city will have at least $10 million in unanticipated revenue this year, though it has yet to be announced.

Garcia said Thursday’s town hall will be the first in a series of conversations related to public safety. He urged residents to reach out to their elected officials and show up at City Council meetings to speak about what they need from the city.

“You all are going to make sure we’re moving in the right direction,” he said.