What's in a name?
Woman looking to set legal record, identity straight

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

Gamerco resident Cecelia L. Gonzales, who served time in prison after her conviction on a second-degree murder charge in the 1990s, is planning to apply for a pardon from New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. However, Gonzales' legal records are filled with documents that have her name misspelled, incorrect Social Security numbers, and a document from the legal file of another local woman with a similar name. [Photo by Brian Leddy/Independent]

GALLUP — Anyone who's lived in Gallup for very many years probably knows something about Cecelia L. Gonzales.

Raised in Gallup's Chihuahuita neighborhood, Gonzales is a longtime cosmetologist in town. In 1994 she was arrested for shooting a local woman in Gamerco and charged with attempted murder. Because of the publicity surrounding the case, her trial was moved to San Juan County, where she was convicted and sentenced to prison. She was released from prison in 1998, returned to Gallup, and completed her parole in 2000.

For those who don't like her and that's not a small number of people Gonzales is outspoken, abrasive, and sometimes difficult to talk to and understand.

But to Gonzales, some of what people think they know about her might not be particularly accurate or true.

Contrary to what some people believe, she said, she has no other history of arrests or criminal convictions. What she does have, however, is a very common Hispanic name, and she is concerned that her name has possibly caused her legal record to get mixed up with the criminal records of other women with similar names.

As Gonzales is preparing to apply for a pardon from New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, that concern is no small matter to her.

Gonzales doesn't have proof that anyone else's criminal record has been blended with hers, but she does have evidence of errors in her legal record: a Social Security number that is not even similar to her number is listed throughout her District Court files in McKinley and San Juan Counties; her first name is misspelled on her Certificate of Parole, her Certificate of Parole Discharge, and other legal documents; and she says another woman's Certificate of Discharge for a conviction of receiving stolen property was in her former parole officer's file on Gonzales.

Whether any of these errors are serious is up for debate. Gonzales thinks they might be, while several government officials seem to think they are only minor errors that can be cleared up easily. Cecelia vs. Cecilia

According to the New Mexico State Judiciary Web site (www.nmcourts.com), there have been dozens of court cases although most of them not criminal cases from around the state involving women named Cecelia or Cecilia Gonzales. Several cases from Gallup involve another woman named Cecilia with an "I" who is 14 years younger than Gonzales. She is the woman who was convicted of receiving stolen property. The Independent inspected the court files of both Gallup women and found numerous mistakes throughout the files involving the spelling of their names and their Social Security numbers. Most appear to be accidental clerical errors.

Gonzales provided a copy of her Social Security card, and its number is not similar to the Social Security number in her district court files in McKinley and San Juan counties. She said that is the only Social Security number she has ever had or used.

According to District Court records in Gallup, the wrong Social Security number is listed on the 1994 grand jury indictment. Gonzales is also listed by her former married name, Borbon, which she had dropped six years earlier when she legally resumed use of her maiden name.

Because the shooting incident took place nearly 13 years ago and the reports are no longer available, The Independent has been unable to verify what Social Security number was recorded on the initial police and booking report. Gonzales denies giving authorities false information like a fake Social Security number when she was arrested. She said law enforcement officers obtained her name, birth date, and Social Security number when they searched her purse.

Minor or major
When contacted by The Independent, officials from the state of New Mexico Parole Board pulled Gonzales' file.

"I'm not sure it creates any significant issues," Board Director Ella Frank said of the wrong Social Security number and the misspelled first name. "I'm not sure it's doing any damage to her," she added.

Frank said minor problems often arise in New Mexico's legal system with people sharing the same or similar names, but usually such problems can be easily corrected and don't cause serious problems. According to Frank's records, another Cecelia or Cecilia Gonzales with a different middle initial is currently in the process of applying for a pardon. By providing accurate documentation of her legal record when she submits her pardon application, Gonzales shouldn't face any problems because of the errors, Frank said.

Justin Miller, associate general counsel for the Governor's Office, said his office would be willing to work with Gonzales to make sure the errors in her legal record don't cause identity confusion in the pardon application process.

San Juan County District Court Clerk Weldon Neff said he wasn't sure the errors were serious enough to negatively impact Gonzales' request for a pardon. More serious problems are posed, he said, for people whose legal records have been damaged through intentional identity theft.

While examining Gonzales' San Juan County file, Assistant Court Administrator Tammy Stalcup also noticed that Gonzales' Judgement and Sentence document listed the wrong year for the shooting incident. Stalcup said it was unusual that the inaccurate date was not noticed by the judge, the defense attorney, or the prosecuting attorney who prepared the document.

Stalcup said Gonzales should take documentation of the errors to the McKinley County District Attorney's Office and request that office petition the district courts to correct the errors in the court files. The San Juan County District Court staff would be happy to correct the errors, she explained, but the request would have to come from the McKinley County DA's Office since the errors originated there.

As to the other woman's Certificate of Discharge in Gonzales' former parole officer's file, Stalcup said Gonzales should take that issue up with the parole officer in Gallup.

Benefits of Pardon
Gonzales was asked why she wanted to apply for a pardon since she had already served her time in prison and completed her parole.

"This pardon will allow me to further myself," she said. "I don't have my identity. There's still a lot of things I want to fulfill in my life. I think I deserve it."

Sherry Stephens, deputy director of the New Mexico Parole Board, said the primary benefits to receiving a pardon are to restore voting rights, restore the right to bear arms, and to receive assistance with public housing and employment.

Under New Mexico law, Gonzales' voting rights were restored after she successfully completed her parole, and she says she has no interest in restoring her right to carry a weapon. She also lives in the same house in Gamerco she has lived in for years. Employment assistance might be welcome, however, as Gonzales said she has struggled to obtain steady employment even though she earned an associate's degree in human services after her release from prison.

"I just want the pardon on my record. If it doesn't happen, fine," Gonzales said. "I think that would be closure in my life."

Reporter Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola can be contacted at (505) 863-6811 ext. 218 or ehardinburrola@yahoo.com.