Melissa Carbajal and Alonzo Valdez Death, Obituary – In a series of tweets sent out Monday afternoon, the Pueblo County Coroner’s Office identified three people who had been killed in separate incidents within the past week: two people who had been murdered, and a pedestrian who had been killed in a collision. Coroner Brian Cotter announced on Twitter that 53-year-old Melissa Carbajal, who was a resident of Pueblo, was discovered dead from a single gunshot wound on November 23 in an apartment located in the 1600 block of Bonforte Boulevard.
A news release from the Pueblo Police Department stated that officers were called to the location at approximately 1:15 p.m. on that day in response to a report of a deceased body in the area.
Although there have been no arrests made, the police say that they have located and gotten in touch with a person of interest in the investigation. The identity of Alonzo Valdez, 32, who was found dead from a gunshot wound near a residence in the 1000 block of East Sixth Street on December 12 was also made public by Cotter. Valdez was found dead near the residence. After receiving a call just after 2 in the morning about a shooting, responding officers arrived to discover that the victim had already passed away. According to the Pueblo Police Department, they also took a woman to the hospital with injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening.
According to Cotter, the investigations into both fatal shootings are being treated as homicides. The two murders were the 25th and 26th ones committed in the city in the year 2022. Pueblo County has already seen a total of 29 people lose their lives due to killings so far in 2018. A man from Pueblo was exonerated of first-degree murder in connection with a fatal shooting in 2021. Cotter has also disclosed the name of the individual who was trying to cross U.S. Highway 50 on foot when they were struck and killed by a vehicle on Friday evening. An officer from the office of the coroner arrived at the scene and determined that the man, identified as Ernest Sanchez, 67, was no longer alive.
Pueblo Police Department asks that anyone who may have information about either of the two homicides call police dispatch at 719-553-2502, or contact Detective Joe Cardona at 719-240-0130 and Detective Jose Medina at 719-320-6038 respectively. Pueblo Crime Stoppers can be reached by phone at 719-542-STOP (719-542-7867) or online at pueblocrimestoppers.com. Callers can remain anonymous. Anyone who provides information that ultimately leads to the apprehension of a criminal could be eligible for a monetary reward.