Jury convicts Silver City man in murder case
SILVER CITY, N.M. - District Attorney Michael R. Renteria announced the conviction of Macario Arroyos, Jr., age 33, of Silver City, on the charge of Second Degree Murder and two counts of Battery Upon a Peace Officer. A Silver City jury convicted Arroyos on Wednesday of the strangling death of 39-year-old Amy L. Gonzales, also of Silver City. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Debra Doll and Chief Deputy District Attorney Tomas Medina.
According to testimony and court records, Silver City Police Department officers were dispatched to 1417 Silver Street on February 8, 2020 where they encountered an eyewitness who said Arroyos, also known as “Sharky,” had killed Gonzales. Police found Gonzales deceased inside the residence.
According to the testimony of the eyewitness, she and Gonzales were inside the residence sitting on the couch watching television when Arroyos, who was acquainted with Gonzales, entered the house and sat on a recliner opposite the couch. He suddenly got up and began hitting Gonzales, repeatedly saying he was going to kill her. Arroyos then strangled Gonzales with his hands. The eyewitness tried, but was unable to stop the attack, which ended when Arroyos ran outside and away from the house.
Police captured Arroyos at Gila Regional Medical Center after hospital employees reported that he was in the hospital for no apparent reason, pacing back and forth and appearing extremely nervous.
Later in the day, while police were executing a search warrant to collect DNA samples from Arroyos, he kicked Silver City Police Detective Daniel Tavizon and, while being transported to jail, kicked Officer Fernando Cardoza.
The District Attorney’s Office presented testimony from the eyewitness, Silver City police officers and a representative of the state’s Office of the Medical Examiner. The jury rendered guilty verdicts on all counts after a three-day trial.
District Court Judge Tom Stewart presided over the trial and will pronounce sentence at a later hearing.
According to court records, Arroyos has an extensive criminal history, including convictions for Aggravated Assault Upon a Household Member, Aggravated Battery Against a Household Member, Criminal Sexual Penetration of a child and several convictions for Battery Against a Household Member. He also has another pending case in which he is charged with Aggravated Assault Upon a Health Care Worker and Aggravated Battery.
“We are pleased that a measure of justice has been done for the victim in this case,” said District Attorney Renteria. “I am very proud of the work of our prosecutors, legal assistants and victim advocates. They did excellent work in this case, and the jury’s verdict bears that out.”
Renteria also credited the work of the Silver City Police Department in securing the verdict, saying “the Silver City Police did a thorough and professional investigation of this case and were instrumental in securing this conviction.”
This article originally appeared on Deming Headlight: Jury convicts Silver City man in murder case
