Arrendondo murder trial gearing up

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Helen Davis
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — The first-degree murder trial of Angel Arrendondo is scheduled to begin with jury selection in the 13th Judicial District Court in Grants at 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Arrendondo, 35, from Borrego Springs, Calif., is being tried for first-degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to commit a violent felony, two counts of abandonment or abuse of a child, tampering with evidence, shooting at an inhabited dwelling, firearm enhancement and criminal damage to property stemming from the murder of 60-year-old Alfredo Aragon in Milan on Nov. 22, 2003.

Arrendondo is said to be a member of Harbor Lomas Gang in Los Angeles and fled the state after the offense in Milan.
The suspect was apprehended by the Los Angeles County Sheriffs’ Department Special Enforcement Bureau Team in Lomita, Calif., in January 2004 and returned to New Mexico on a warrant. He was indicted in district court on Oct. 27, 2004.

In a separate district court case, Arrendondo was indicted for bringing contraband into a jail, criminal solicitation and trafficking a controlled substance with intent on Aug. 2, 2008 and is scheduled to begin trail in January 2009 on those counts.