Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Law enforcement authorities early Monday arrested a man accused of shooting and killing two 23-year-old Texico women, shooting a 5-year-old in the head and kidnapping a 10-month old baby on May 3 at Ned Houk Park.
The News has pieced together a timeline of events based on public documents and police interviews:
May 1-2
Alek Collins, 26, of Manvel, Texas, drives a rented vehicle – a maroon Honda sedan -- from the Allen, Texas, area through the Texas Panhandle, arriving in Clovis around 8:30 p.m. on May 1.
He spends that evening and May 2 driving around eastern New Mexico, from Clovis to Tucumcari, then back through Clovis to Portales, Causey, Rogers, Elida, Melrose and back to Tucumcari.
He spends the nights of May 1-2 in his vehicle and continues driving around into the morning of May 3.
May 3
7:30 a.m.: Collins is at Ned Houk Park, about five miles north of Clovis. He remains at the park until about 8:30 a.m.
2:15 p.m.: Samantha Cisneros, 23, Taryn Allen, 23, both of Texico, and Cisneros’ children – a 5-year-old and 10-month-old Eleia Maria Torres – are at Twin-Cronnies drive-in in Clovis.
2:44 p.m.: Collins is at Clovis’ McDonald’s on Prince Street.
2:48 p.m.: Cisneros and the others are at Dollar Tree, one block from the McDonald’s where Collins was located.
2:59 p.m.: Cisneros, Allen and the children arrive at Ned Houk Park. Collins is at Clovis’ Walmart, where he remains until heading north on Prince Street at 3:18 p.m.
3:29 p.m.: Collins is at Ned Houk Park.
3:40 p.m.: Collins leaves Ned Houk Park and begins driving toward Texas and ultimately to Abilene.
4:25 p.m.: Clovis police and emergency responders are dispatched to Ned Houk Park in reference to an officer down, two adults possibly deceased and a child alive but injured.
On arrival, first responders find no law enforcement officers injured but do discover Cisneros and Allen, dead from gunshot wounds. Both are lying near Cisneros’ silver or gray Dodge minivan.
Rescue workers also find the 5-year-old, breathing and responsive, but she, too, is shot. She is later hospitalized in critical condition.
“Through a quick investigation,” police are made aware another child – Eleia – is missing. Police are aware that a baby was on the scene because they find a baby car seat, a stroller and a bottle.
Late afternoon: What followed is not specifically time stamped in court records or police reports, but soon after arrival, police begin talking with witnesses.
One witness who had been walking at the park told police he heard what might have been “approximately 6-8 gunshots earlier in the day” but could not provide a time.
Two other witnesses told police they saw the two women and the child on the ground and approached them in their vehicle. They honked their vehicle horn but received no response from the women, so they called 911. This is believed to be the 911 call that first alerted authorities to the scene at 4:25 p.m.
Police find debris that appeared to come from a damaged maroon-in-color Honda about 10 feet southwest of the bodies.
Police also locate five spent shell casings they believe came from a 9mm-caliber firearm.
They also find small puppies inside the van. Interviews and social media records showed the women were planning to give the puppies away that day. The puppies are picked up by Clovis animal control.
10:10 p.m.: An Amber Alert is issued for the missing infant by New Mexico State Police. (Officials have since declined to answer questions about the time the Amber Alert was issued.)
May 3-4
Unspecified times: Clovis police, in addition to FBI, New Mexico State Police and other police agencies, continue combing Ned Houk Park for evidence and interviewing witnesses and the victims’ family members and friends.
Hundreds of law officers and support personnel are part of the investigation, which includes cell-phone and GPS records obtained via court order, police say.
May 4
Just after midnight: Collins’ rented vehicle was disabled through its GPS system by the car’s owner.
Police notified the car’s owner the vehicle was the subject of a police investigation, though the time that information was provided is not clear.
It does not appear police knew the vehicle’s location when it was disabled.
May 5-6
Late night and early morning: Clovis police are alerted the suspect could be in the Abilene, Texas, area, and police there were being notified.
Abilene police begin watching a home in North Abilene where GPS had located Collins’ rental vehicle.
Police see a man push the suspect vehicle out of the home’s garage. Both side mirrors are broken.
Then, at 4:30 a.m. on May 6, “due to an incident occurring at the residence, local agents acted on detaining the subject.” Clovis Police Capt. Robert Telles said Collins was involved in an altercation with an Uber driver just prior to his arrest.
