Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-08-01
LOPEZ IS A CATTLE
THIEF AS WELL AS
A MURDERER
SHERIFF EXPECTED WITH
HIS PRISONER TONIGHT
Murderer of Luis PadiIIa Was
Leader of Bold Gang of Rust
IerS Who Terrorized South
End of the County,

Sheriff Perfectd ArmiiO is expected
to return tonight from Roswell Will
benjamin Lopez. alias Juan Herman
dez. arrested in the Pecos valley town
for the murder OF Luis Padilla. There
is no doubt of the Identity of the pris-
oner. The photographs sent by Sher-
iff Ballard of Chaves county were
taken by a deputy sheriff to Los Pa
dillas, the native village i'm the south
ern part of the county, where the
shooting occurred. and were at once
identified by various residents of that
locality.
The murder of Padilla was not com
mittcd. as the general impression
would have il. six Or seven years ago.
II was committed July .. 1904, and
was as cold blooded an assassination
as was ever perpetrated in the county.
The story is an interesting n and
worth repeating.
A gang Of bold cattle thieves had
long %terroriZed the vicinity OF Los
Padillas. One OF them had bcen
killed in a running fight with officers
and two more had served time in the
penitentiary. Such incidents, how
ever, only served To- make them holder
ana more desperate and they ruled
things with an iron hand In that sec
ton.
Lopez was one of the ringleaders Of
the organized gang. He and Jose Ben
QQltn ana GtNIO ikNlitfiNs an NltlNuN
outlaws. were concerned In the as
sassination OF Padilla. The latter was
a young constable who had been given
"a warrant for the arrest OF the three
men. The latter laid In wait for him.
surrounded him and shot him like "a
dog before he had a chance to defend
himself. He was trightfullN wounded
in the abdomen ana died two days af-
ter from the effects of his injuries,
As soon as tho shooting occurred.
the natives Of Los Padillas surrounded
the three men in an adobe house and
dispatched two horsemen to Albu-
querque for help. t"ndersheriff New
conner and Deputy Harry Cooper
armed themselves with Winchesters
aud s~iA-shootyi. and rod post haste
to the scene Of the ARRAY.
When they arrived al the scene they
birds had flown, the natives having
scattered like sheep az the first show
OF n sally from the besieged. More
that. they We're 50 completely
terrorized bv the men that they re-
fused to indicate by word or sign in
which direction the men had fed. \
thorough search was made or thar
part of the county by the officers but
the desperadoes had made good their
escape. II IS said that Lopez returned
later and the sheriff did not care 70
take IN the gauntlct he threw down.
defying anyone to come and lake MIN
At the September term Of the dis
frict court in 1895 indictments were
returned against the three men FOR
murder and stealing cattle, but they
were never brought 20 trial.
u was the general belief that the I
bandits fed 10 the Ladrone mount
Of Socorro county. sixty miles
south. a. nfting refuge for them. Since I
the shooting they have been living IN
various parts of the territory. Since
present sheriff took charge. how ]
ever. Justice has been stalking them
steadily and &c is only a question %
time until The other two men are cap