Las Cruces—Rebecca Gomez, co-defendant to Leonard Telles in the murder of Jerome Saiz, pled no contest today in district court. The original charge of 1st degree murder and 1st degree kidnapping were both reduced to 2nd degree felonies with a combined exposure of up to 24 years imprisonment. As part of the plea agreement Senior Trial Attorney Daniel Sewell agreed to request no more than an 18 year sentence for Gomez.
Chief Judge Fernando Macias reminded Gomez of her right to a jury trial although the agreement of reduced charges would no longer apply at that time. Gomez stated she understood the charges as well as the terms of the agreement and formally entered a plea of no contest. Judge Macias ordered a diagnostic evaluation of Gomez and stated once it was completed he was prepared to render his decision expeditiously.
At 2:30am on November 20, 2013, Saiz arrived at his own home to find his ex-girlfriend of 3 years, Rebecca Gomez, with her new and current boyfriend, Leonard Telles. Telles said he had arrived earlier that day to help Gomez and her young daughters move out of the home but when Saiz arrived he got angry and attempted to choke Telles and threatened him with a bat. Telles claimed he took control of the bat out of self defense and began beating Saiz with it breaking his jaw and fracturing his skull. Believing that Saiz was dead, Telles covered his body with a sheet, dragged it to another room and wrapped it in a carpet. During the commotion Saiz’ cell phone is believed to have accidentally dialed a friend who claims to have heard Gomez shouting “give me that! Stop! Kill him babe!” Autopsy reports would prove that Saiz was struck with a bat more than 10 times to the arms, chest, head and legs.
Attorney Daniel Sewell stated, “I’m happy for the Saiz family, they are getting a lot of closure on this 2nd degree murder charge. They are happy with it and I’m happy for them.”
In January Telles was sentenced to 39 years incarceration and a sentence date for Gomez is pending.
Information from Third Judicial District Attorney's Office