SANDOVAL COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – Sandoval County deputies have arrested a man for shooting and killing a Jemez Valley school teacher. Deputies responded to a 911 call in Ponderosa about a broken window and a dead man inside a rental home.
They found the body of 59-year-old Joseph William Keleher – a social studies teacher at Jemez Valley Schools. Police arrested a man on scene, 46-year-old David Salazar, who they say sounded confused but admitted to the shooting.
Online court records show Salazar has a violent criminal history. At the time of this arrest, he was out of jail awaiting trial, accused of leading police on a high-speed chase with his teenage son in the car. He is now charged with first-degree murder.