Murder trials pending for Eddy County residents accused of 2021 killings
Four Eddy County residents charged with murder in 2021 will be tried in the Fifth Judicial District Court in the coming weeks.
The following is a summary of the cases expected to be tried in the district. None of the cases are related.
Anthony Lee Olivas
Anthony Lee Olivas, 27, was charged in March of last year with the willful and deliberate first-degree murder of Pete Sarabia in the 500 block of South Mesa, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Carlsbad Police Department.
Police also charged Olivas with first degree kidnapping, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, two counts of tampering with evidence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering, criminal damage to property and receipt, transport, or possession of a firearm by a felon.
Previous coverage:Anthony Lee Olivas faces more charges in killing of Pete Sarabia
He will face a jury in Fifth Judicial District Judge Eileen Riordan’s courtroom on Sept. 6, according to online court records.
Police allege Olivas shot Sarabia after being told to leave a residence where Olivas was searching for his girlfriend, read the criminal complaint.
Previous coverage:Brent Sullivan's death has been ruled an accident. It's unclear if that will affect his family's trials.
Alexis Smith
Alexis Smith, 36, will be tried for intentional abuse of a child resulting in death and abuse of a child not resulting in death or great bodily harm before Fifth Judicial District Judge Lisa Riley on Oct. 3, online court records cited.
She and her mother Kellie Smith, 56, were arrested by Carlsbad police on Sept. 28, 2021 after 12-year-old Brent Sullivan was found dead from an apparent fentanyl overdose in a shed on Western Way Street, a criminal compliant noted.
Sullivan’s death was ruled an accidental drug overdose by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI).
Previous coverage:Carlsbad grandmother charged with grandson's death back in jail after violating bond
Alexis Smith was Sullivan’s mother and Kellie Smith his grandmother. Both women admitted to being drug addicts, drug dealers and traffickers, the criminal complaint read.
Alexis Smith allegedly told detectives there were 300 fentanyl pills in the home at the time of the boy’s death.
Previous coverage:Trial date set for Artesia man charged with murder in 2021
Nathan Paul Garrison
Nathan Paul Garrison, 41, of Artesia was charged in November 2021 with second degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Tyler Grantham.
Garrison will be tried before a jury on Nov. 1 before Fifth Judicial District Judge Jane Shuler-Gray.
Eddy County Sheriff’s detectives alleged Garrison and Grantham had past altercations pertaining to stolen money.
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Garrison allegedly fired a weapon toward the inside of a home on Cottonwood St. in Artesia killing Grantham, according to court records.
R’Jay Chavez-Gonzales
R’Jay Chavez-Gonzales will be tried Dec. 6 before Riordan for second-degree murder, online court records indicated.
Chavez-Gonzales, 21, allegedly killed Christopher Mills on Oct. 23, 2021 after he was accused of being a “snitch” at a residence in the 400 block of North Third Street, read a criminal complaint filed by the Carlsbad Police Department.
Previous coverage:Police arrest Carlsbad man in weekend shooting death
Police and prosecutors contend Chavez-Gonzales fled the scene after he was confronted by another person.
Witnesses said the shooting occurred during a group gathering at the home.
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Trial dates set for Eddy County residents accused of murders in 2021
