Man Accused Of Kidnapping Infant Turns Himself In

A man accused of kidnapping a 3-month-old baby June 6 turned himself in to Socorro police Sunday, while a female suspect and two others are still on the loose, investigators said.

Authorities said Juan Carlos Martinez, 32, and his sister-in-law, 30-year-old Veronica Tarin Gomez and two other masked people barged into a home and took the child. The mother of the baby, Alicia Gonzalez-Galvan, told investigators that when she, her daughter and infant son got home that night and were about to close the door, the four individuals broke in. Gonzalez-Galvan told investigators that the intruders had covered part of their face with black cloth.

Police said one of the male intruders hit Gonzalez-Galvan and a female intruder told the mother, “I’ll hit you where it hurts you most.” As she was being accosted, another masked woman took documents from Gonzalez-Galvan’s home, police said. Gonzalez-Galvan said one of the masked women ran out with the child and the three others followed.

Later that morning, Socorro detectives on the scene found the baby — in his car seat — abandoned in the front yard.

Gonzalez-Galvan told authorities she recognized some of the suspects’ voices because they had called the previous day threatening her. She said she believed the incident is cartel-related and connected to a stabbing during a drug deal last year.

Tarin Gomez is still on the loose. She’s 5 feet 2 inches, weighs 165 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. Socorro police warn that she may be armed and dangerous. Her last known address was in Praxedis Guerrero, Chihuahua, a Mexican town across the border from Tornillo. If you know where she is, call Socorro police at 915-858-6983.

Martinez, who lives in Fort Hancock, was arrested on nine warrants for burglary, burglary with intent to commit assault, kidnapping and three counts of theft.