Charges dropped against 2 accused in Jaydon Chavez-Silver murder

The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday dropped charges against two of the four men charged in the shooting death of Jaydon Chavez-Silver last summer.

District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said charges against Donovan Maez and Christopher Cruz were both dropped Wednesday.

Both faced first-degree murder, attempting to commit first-degree murder, shooting at an occupied dwelling resulting in death, shooting from a motor vehicle and conspiracy charges – all felonies.

Brandenburg wrote in a news release that she had consulted with Chavez-Silver’s family before making the decision.

However, Chavez-Silver’s mother, Nicole Chavez, said in a statement to KOB that she was “not consulted, but informed” that the charges would be dismissed.

“We are completely devastated with today’s news. After losing our son, the least we had hoped for was to get Justice for Jaydon. We do not agree with the statement that was issued by the District Attorney’s office, as we were not consulted but informed of the charges being dismissed, this came as an utter shock to our family. We pray that anyone with any information will come forward and tell the truth regarding Jaydon’s case. We will continue to fight to get justice for our son. We have seen firsthand the injustices in the legal system and we will continue to work towards fixing these flaws. We pray that there will be Justice for Jaydon,” Chavez wrote in the statement.

“Based upon the evidence in our possession, we do not believe it is appropriate for those cases to proceed at this time,” Brandenburg wrote in her statement.

But she said she believes there is enough evidence to move forward on the charges against the two others implicated in the crime: Dominic Conyers and Nicholas Gonzales Villasenor.

Conyers was arrested in early March after police determined there were three shooters at the scene. Gonzales Villasenor, who was 16 at the time of his arrest last August, is being charged as a serious youth offender and could face life in prison if he is convicted of first-degree murder in the case.

Maez is the son of former state representative Stephanie Maez, who stepped down after the charges came to light.

Jon Day, Maez’s attorney, spoke to KOB from Las Cruces, where he is currently representing former Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputy Tai Chan in a murder trial.

“What we’ve learned is an outrageous example of incompetent, shoddy, police work,” Day said. “Donovan and Chris Cruz are completely innocent. So today the district attorney — and we give them credit; we presented them the results of our investigation — interviewed witnesses, re-interviewed witnesses, looked at physical evidence, did the job APD should have done.”

“After he was arrested, his grandfather, who is a retired United States Secret Service Agent, who is also a private investigator — in those 10 months, we’ve been working, reinvestigating the case, doing the job the Albuquerque Police Department should have done,” Day added.

Chavez-Silver, 17, was killed at a party in northeast Albuquerque last June in a drive-by shooting.

Maez and Cruz were released from the Metropolitan Detention Center just before 10 p.m. Thursday and reunited with family and friends after spending nearly a year in jail. Their families are expected to give statements Friday.

Gonzales Villasenor was not listed as being in custody, nor was Conyers.