ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The search continues for an Albuquerque man charged in an August murder, who’s now accused of cutting off his ankle monitor amid a court battle over his pretrial release. Law enforcement is searching for Joe Simon Hilario Anderson, 41, who was ordered back into custody by the New Mexico Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Anderson is accused of killing Raymond Aviles last year on August 6 along Eastern Avenue near Gibson and Wellsley. Investigators have accused Anderson of shooting Aviles as he tried to drive away on a motorcycle around 1 a.m. Anderson is said to have lent the motorcycle to Aviles, who didn’t return it.
On Monday afternoon around 3 p.m., the New Mexico’s Supreme Court ordered Anderson to be held in custody until trial. The decision reversed an earlier decision made by Bernalillo County District Court Judge Emeterio Rudolfo. In mid-January, Judge Rudolfo denied a pretrial detention motion from the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office that would have held Anderson through trial.
Roughly 24 hours after the state Supreme Court’s decision to detain Anderson Monday, a Bernalillo County District Court Judge issued a warrant for Anderson’s arrest around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office says prosecutors learned late in the afternoon that Anderson cut off his ankle monitor.
“This is exactly why we filed pretrial detention in this matter,” said Bernalillo County District Attorney Bregman in a statement sent Tuesday. “Unfortunately this individual has cut off his ankle monitor and is in the wind.”
A spokesperson for the DA’s Office says its own law enforcement officers as well as other agencies are currently looking for Anderson. Anyone with information is asked to call police.
The New Mexico Supreme Court did not yet explain their decision to detain Anderson Tuesday, however, they’re expected to do so in a later filing. This is the second case in the last year where the New Mexico Supreme Court has overturned the pretrial release of an accused murder suspect. In April 2022, the Court granted an appeal filed by the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office to reverse Adrian Avila’s pretrial release.
Reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision, New Mexico Attorney General New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez expressed frustration. Torrez, who was the Bernalillo County District Attorney from 2017 through 2022 says prosecutors should not have to go to the state’s highest court to make sure accused killers stay locked up.
“It’s somewhat surprising that it would take a Court of Appeals and Supreme Court decision to actually come to a conclusion that I think is pretty much common sense for every New Mexican,” Torrez said. “But that is unfortunately where we find ourselves these days.”
Joe Anderson’s History
The latest 2022 murder charge is not the first time Anderson has faced a court on criminal charges. In 2016, Anderson was convicted of voluntary manslaughter after police say Anderson shot Vicente Sanchez in the face during a fight at a 2010 house party. Anderson served seven years for the killing.
On August 18 2022, Anderson was caught by police in a stolen SUV with a gun and fentanyl in a different case. Anderson had not yet been accused in the August 6 murder case.
Prosecutors fought to keep him behind bars until trial, however Judge Joseph Montano let him out, saying Anderson had stayed out of trouble for years. Unbeknownst to the Judge, Anderson would eventually be linked to the August murder of Raymond Aviles.
Anderson was finally arrested and charged in the Aviles murder case in December 2022. After that arrest, the DA’s Office argued once again that Anderson should be held in jail until trial. Eventually in January, Judge Emeterio Rudolfo denied the request for pretrial detention, saying Anderson had behaved for the past four months while he was out and that prosecutors hadn’t made a compelling enough case that he was dangerous.
Anderson was ordered to house arrest. In an explanation offered by District Court Judge Rudolfo, the judge wrote, “any danger Mr. Anderson may pose on the community can be mitigated because of Mr. Anderson’s performance on probation in the past as well as his performance on pretrial services.” The judge also noted that “the State [prosecutor], with the evidence they presented, fails to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the risk to the community posed by Joe Anderson cannot be mitigated.”
Judge Rudolfo released Anderson on to pretrial services with GPS monitoring with a series of conditions that were labeled as “zero tolerance.” Anderson’s whereabouts remain unknown and a warrant for his arrest remains active.