Barajas also faces sex offender charges

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Convicted repeat sex offender, Roy Barajas, 59, of 510 San Jose Drive, may face additional years in prison if a "supplemental information" is filed in the case where he is indicted, by the 13th Judicial District grand jury, in connection with lighting a Grants man on fire on May 8 (Please see related story).

Barajas was arrested on June 7, 2005, by a Cibola County deputy sheriff, on awarrant in connection with failure to re-register as a sex offender, according to Cibola County Magistrate Court records.

He was evicted from a residence in San Rafael when the owners of the residence from whom he was renting found out he was a sex offender, court records state.

When Cibola County Sheriff's deputies found Barajas moving in to his Grants residence, and recognized him as a sex offender, they looked up his registration on the Internet and found he had not reregistered, as required by state law.

The charge of failure to register as a sex offender, a fourth degree felony, was dismissed by the Magistrate Court on Feb. 14, 2006, for failure to prosecute by the District Attorney's office.

"We (Grants Police) upon checking his background during the arrest process on May 8 learned of his sexual offender status,"said Grants Police Lt. Corey Allen.

According to 13th Judicial District Court records, Barajas has previous convictions of criminal sexual penetration, kidnapping and assault.

On April 24, 1991, Barajas was sentenced by District Judge Mayo T. Boucher, to one count each of criminal sexual penetration and kidnapping, as part of a plea agreement with the District Attorney's office. The district attorney at the time was W. Ken Martinez.

Barajas was sentenced to nine years for the criminal sexual penetration conviction and five years for kidnapping, according to District Court records. Each count was enhanced by eight years as a habitual offender, court records stated.

All terms were to run consecutive for a total of 30 years, five years of which was suspended. He was placed on parole for four years.

The District Attorney's office initially filed a "criminal information" in the case where Barajas was accused of forcing sexual intercourse with a woman three times, threatened her, stole an undisclosed amount of money, and forced her to conduct other sexual acts totaling 10 counts.

Barajas only served about half of his 25 years, being released in November of 2004, Tia Bland, spokeswoman for the New Mexico Department of Corrections, said.

"He was paroled in October 2003, but served the entire parole in the prison system. Maybe he had no place to go," Bland said.

In any case, Barajas earned credit for good time, she said.

He did not serve his time in just one state prison facility either, but was moved a couple of times. "Most inmates do not serve all their time in one facility," she said.

• In 1986, Barajas agreed to a plea deal with the district attorney in Dona Ana County in which Barajas was found guilty of criminal sexual penetration.
  
  
• In 1972, in McKinley County, Barajas was convicted of five counts of criminal sexual penetration.
  
  
• In 1972, Barajas agreed to a plea deal in which he was found guilty of one count of assault to commit a violent felony in Valencia County.