Artesia Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Kidnap and Murdering a Woman in 2021

ALBUQUERQUE - An Artesia man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping a woman from an Artesia motel and murdering her at a remote site in Eddy County in 2021.

According to court documents, on February 26, 2021, at approximately 4:30 a.m., Jerrold Albert Chavarria, 37, and Jerry Romero, 47, kidnapped Jane Doe from the Budget Inn motel in Artesia, New Mexico. Video footage from the Budget Inn motel showed Romero escorting a sobbing Jane Doe into the back seat of a red SUV driven by Chavarria. Approximately one hour later, at 5:35 a.m., the video footage showed Romero and Chavarria returning to the Budget Inn motel without Jane Doe. At 10:21 a.m., Jane Doe's lifeless body was discovered at a remote location on an oil lease approximately 11 miles from the Budget Inn motel. Jane Doe had been shot twenty-one times at close range with two different calibers of ammunition.

Chavarria pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and faces up to life in prison at sentencing.

Romero remains in custody pending trial, which is not currently scheduled.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Roswell Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Eddy County Sheriff's Office. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo are prosecuting the case.