Judge grants five years of probation in Siler Road kidnapping case

A Las Vegas man is spending the next five years on probation after pleading guilty to kidnapping and assault charges.

Santa Fe police officers found a crying woman on a sidewalk at a Siler Road apartment complex around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 7. She had a swollen face and a hematoma on the back of her head. An arrest warrant affidavit noted she had been dispatched to a report of a man chasing a woman with a gun. The woman told officers her boyfriend, Darius Sandoval, appeared suddenly while she was in the laundry room. He accused her of having someone in the apartment and held a silver handgun. He ordered her to wait in his truck while he searched the unit. She said he threatened to kill her entire family if she did not comply.

Sandoval found no one in the apartment. He then ordered the woman back to the laundry room for her clothes. He attacked her there, striking her face and head while accusing her of cheating. The affidavit states he knocked her to the ground and put his hands around her neck. He applied enough pressure that she could not breathe. He told her she could die like a woman or he would kill her grandmother and son. The woman escaped and ran to her car. Sandoval followed her to a parking lot. He approached her vehicle with the gun and pulled her out. He struck the back of her head with the weapon before dragging her into his truck. She jumped out and tried to flag down a passing motorist. The driver stopped but drove off after Sandoval tapped the window with the butt of the gun. The man told police he saw the chase and called officers after Sandoval tapped his window.

Sandoval took the woman's wallet, Social Security card, phone, and house and car keys before leaving her on the roadside. Police initially charged him with first-degree kidnapping, armed robbery, and other violent crimes. Those charges carried a potential prison term of more than 30 years. In October, Sandoval pleaded guilty to reduced charges. These included second-degree kidnapping and aggravated assault of a household member with a deadly weapon. The new charges carried penalties of about 12 years. District Judge T. Glenn Ellington suspended all incarceration time. He sentenced Sandoval to five years of probation. This outcome matched the agreement reached with the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

John Day, Sandoval’s attorney, spoke in an interview on Monday. He said Sandoval fully accepted responsibility for the events. Day described the incident as the worst day of his client's life and said Sandoval is moving forward.