Albuquerque stabbing suspect released despite violence risk

An Albuquerque man accused of stabbing a delivery driver in the heart in March 2020 has been released, even though state mental health professionals found he poses a high risk of violence toward others. The New Mexico Department of Health declined to seek civil commitment because of staffing shortages.

Alfonso Valencia was found mentally incompetent to stand trial for the stabbing of Derrick Armijo, who worked for Budweiser and was delivering a shipment to the Silver Street Market in downtown Albuquerque when he was attacked. Armijo’s mother, Diane, spoke with KRQE shortly after the 2020 attack.

“He saw him running towards him and he told him stand back,” Diane said. “And that’s when he punched him and stabbed him.”

Armijo spent more than a month in the hospital, alone at the onset of COVID, going through multiple surgeries. He has not been able to return to work and had been remodeling a home he had just purchased at the time of the attack.

“My whole family had to go in there and try to put together a makeshift kitchen for when he got out of the hospital,” Diane said. “He had walls torn down, ceilings torn down. It was a major, major project.”

Last month, the Department of Health found Valencia presents “a high risk of violence towards others in the future” and should receive supervision and mental health support. In the same order, the department said it would “not seek civil commitment” due to “existing staffing shortages.”

The Armijo family learned Valencia had been released when a friend spotted him on the streets nearby. “I knew in the back of my head that he was getting out,” Diane said. “We knew that from the beginning that he was incompetent to stand trial. We knew that he would be getting out one day and when we found out through a friend that had seen him downtown, just recently that he was already out, that was a shock.”

Diane said she fears what happens if Valencia stops his medication. “I’m worried that maybe he’s on medication right now,” she said, “and it’s going to happen in a month, two months if he goes off the medication.”

KRQE News 13 reached out to the New Mexico Department of Health about the decision not to commit Valencia. Representatives said the decision was made at the hospital level. If he had met federal criteria, he may have been transferred out of state, but it appears his charge, aggravated battery, did not meet the requirements. Valencia has a criminal history dating back to the 1980s, including armed robbery, burglary and aggravated assault.

Diane said the family remains grateful that her son survived. “He’s here, he’s alive, and I guess you treasure those moments,” she said.