One suspect in recent murder killed biker in 2008
Antonia Louise Bernal was killed on a mild summer evening 12 years ago this week while visiting Las Vegas from Springer during the Rough Rider Motorcycle Rally.
It was July 25, 2008, and Bernal was the passenger on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle riding south on Grand Avenue. As the bike neared Baca Avenue, a car darted across Grand, accelerating toward the bike. The bike and the car collided, and the impact tossed Bernal and the driver of the bike, Steve Duran, to the pavement.
Despite seeing Bernal and Duran lying motionless in the roadway, the driver of the car, Nico L. Barela — then just 18-years-old — drove away. New Mexico State Police later arrested Barela, after he ran from an officer. Bernal died at the hospital later that evening.
Barela was convicted of homicide by vehicle and failure to render aid in September 2009. He was sentenced to four years in prison.
Last week, Barela, now 30, was again arrested by New Mexico State Police. He is charged with an open count of murder in the first degree and multiple other charges in a July 6 shooting that killed 16-year-old Adelina Tafoya and sent two other teens to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
Brianna Leyba, 16, is still in a hospital and may lose sight in one eye and hearing in one ear, according to Leyba’s family. She is, however, conscious and able to speak softly, and doctors are optimistic she will be able to walk again. But she will likely have bullet fragments in her head for the rest of her life.
The Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s office on Tuesday filed a motion in District Court to detain Barela until trial, calling him “a danger to the community.”
The 29-page motion catalogs Barela’s lengthy criminal history, including felony convictions for the 2008 death of Bernal, along with false imprisonment in December 2012 and possession of heroin in February 2017.
Barela also has misdemeanor convictions for possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting an officer and battery.
Deputy District Attorney Tom Clayton told the Optic the DA’s office will also file a motion seeking pretrial detention of Roger A. Tait-Gomez, 29, who is charged with an open count of murder in the first degree and multiple other charges in the July 6 shooting.
“Given the gravity of the case, and the fact that they took a life, we’re asking for both to be held without bond,” Clayton said Wednesday.
The shooting happened around 11:45 p.m. July 6, near the entrance of Storrie Lake State Park on NM State Road 518.
Tafoya was driving a vehicle on Seventh Street with five passengers — ranging in age from 14 to 17 — when a silver SUV began following their car. When the teens exited the vehicle to see why the SUV was following them, Barela and Tait-Gomez opened fire, according to affidavits for arrest filed in San Miguel Magistrate Court.
According to the arrest affidavits, Barela and Tait-Gomez were driving along Seventh Street looking for someone who’d stolen drugs and money from a drug dealer they worked for. The two began to follow the car driven by Tafoya believing the driver was responsible for the robbery. When the car stopped, Barela and Tait-Gomez began shooting.
During an interview with investigators, Barela admitted to being with Tait-Gomez that night, according to the pretrial detention motion, but he denied shooting at the vehicle, telling police that Tait-Gomez was the only one who fired a weapon.
Tait-Gomez was arrested by New Mexico State Police early Tuesday at his mother’s home in Las Vegas, following a five-hour standoff.
According to the pretrial detention motion, Tait-Gomez told investigators that he was armed with a .40-caliber handgun and Barela was armed with a 9 mm firearm, and that both he and Barela fired shots at the vehicle. Investigators recovered 15 fired bullet casings from .40-caliber and 9 mm rounds.
Barela and Tait-Gomez remained in custody at the San Miguel County Detention Center as of this writing, pending the results of pretrial detention hearings.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover Brianna Leyba’s extensive medical expenses (gofundme.com/f/brianna-leyba-medical-expenses), and a fund in Leyba’s name has been established at State Employees Credit Union on Mills Avenue.
