Santa Fe officials seek input on targeting crime after murder suspect apprehended

SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A murder , and another violent attack , seemingly at random within the last month, has left the City of Santa Fe on edge. Now, city officials are assuring the public they’re making the crime problem a priority with patrols and community input.

“We can’t get this issue addressed overnight. This is going to take some real strategy, some real resources to be put behind it,” said Santa Fe Commissioner Michael J. Garcia.

The Santa Fe community is shaken, and local leaders pledging to take action.

“I want to be able to create a space where we are taking the community’s feedback and really using that to direct city-driven policy,” said Garcia.

Garcia plans to hold a town hall to get the community involved in the conversation about crime. It comes after a shooting in July at a Sonic Drive-In on Cerillos Road, which left a fast-food employee critically injured. Additionally, last week there was a deadly shooting outside the Best Buy on Zafarano Drive near Cerillos.

That’s where Zachary Babitz is accused of carjacking 83-year-old Gordon Wilson before shooting him to death on August 6. Babitz, who has an extensive criminal history, was caught in Las Cruces over the weekend. He’s accused of robbing an Arby’s in Las Cruces on Saturday with an unknown woman. The pair allegedly forced a woman out of her car and crashed it shortly afterward. Babitz was apprehended nearby, while the woman fled.

“We are very pleased that he is taken off the streets, and he’s back where he belongs,” said Santa Fe Police Chief Paul Joye.

Both of the recent cases happened along the Cerrillos corridor, an area where Santa Fe police were already focusing on crime-fighting efforts including shoplifting operations and extra patrols.

“We have a few operations that are ongoing. We have one that’s focused on traffic and pedestrian safety as well as retail theft operations and narcotic operations,” said Joye.

Babitz is facing charges in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Las Cruces. He is currently in jail in Doña Ana County.

The Las Cruces Police Department told KRQE they are still investigating the crime Babitz is accused of in their city. They are also still searching for the woman who was with Babitz during the robbery.

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