Police: Santa Fe man found shot to death at Ragle Park
Aug. 10—Samuel Cordero was the oldest of six children — a presence so constant and dependable the other kids regarded him as more than just a brother.
"His siblings thought of him more like a father figure than a brother because he was a bit older than the others and he helped me raise them," said Cordero's mother, Yvonne Cordero.
That bond was destroyed early Wednesday morning, Santa Fe police said. Samuel Cordero, 60, was found dead early Wednesday morning at Ragle Park, the victim of a shooting.
Police provided few details about the death, but said Cordero sustained at least one gunshot wound.
Santa Fe police Capt. Aaron Ortiz were alerted by a "man down call" following a 911 report. Officers were dispatched at about 4:37 a.m. to the park on Zia Road, according to a news release.
Police are calling Cordero's death a homicide — Santa Fe's third in the past three months.
About a month ago, police charged Efren Sifuentes-Gallegos with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 18-year-old Andres Griego-Alvarado. The teens were friends and appeared to be "horse playing or joking around" inside a store before the shooting, according to a criminal complaint.
In June, Juan Emmanuel Vasquez-Salas, 19, died from a gunshot wound in the parking lot of a Hopewell Street apartment complex. Police have not made an arrest in the case.
Cordero worked as a caregiver at MorningStar Assisted Living & Memory Care on Pacheco Street, his mother said.
"He was a very loving person; he cared about people. He would go to work every day and very rarely called in [sick]. They could depend on him," Yvonne Cordero said.
The workplace is not far from where Samuel's body was found, his mother said, adding something must have happened after he left work Wednesday at about 2 a.m.
"I don't know anybody that would want to do this to him," said Yvonne Cordero, who lived with her son. "He would never even think of hurting anybody unless he was protecting somebody."
Family members recalled Cordero's life with admiration.
Teresa Cordero, a sister, said Samuel was "a kind and caring man," and his mother recalled that while he ran a pet store he took care of the animals and even gave one of his sisters a job there.
Yvonne Cordero, devastated by the news of her oldest son's death, spent part of Wednesday trying to figure out how she would pay for his funeral. But the loss is far deeper than that, she said.
"We're in shock," she said. "We can't imagine this happening to him."
Police are asking anyone with any information related to Cordero's death to contact Detective Rebecca Hilderbrandt at 505-955-5265.
