A pregnant Santa Fe woman was attacked by the father of her child on Monday, police said Tuesday, the second such report in a little more than three weeks.
Unlike the earlier attack, however, the latest incident wasn't fatal to the mother or the child. Still, police and domestic-violence advocates are worried that the poor economy is ramping up not only the amount of domestic violence in the Santa Fe area but the intensity.
"I'm grieving big-time," said Carol Horwitz, the city's domestic and sexual violence prevention coordinator. "The level of violence is increasing. People are stressed over the economy."
Horwitz didn't have statistics for 2009 yet, but said she began noticing an increase in the level of violence in January. However, one thing she noticed in looking at statistics from 2007 and 2008 was that the number of assaults on pregnant women nearly doubled to 52 from 27.
The most shocking of those incidents — to both police officers and advocates such as Horwitz — was the May 22 shooting death of both Sarah Lovato, who was 36 weeks pregnant, and her father. Police have said Marino Leyba Jr., who was Lovato's boyfriend and the father of her child, intentionally targeted the fetus because one of the three bullet wounds she sustained was to her belly.
The bullet to Lovato's abdomen hit the baby boy's left leg, chest, right clavicle and the back of his neck, according to an autopsy report from the state Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque.
District Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco has said Leyba may not face any charges connected to the baby's death because New Mexico law does not recognize a fetus as a human being.
In the latest incident, police arrested a 26-year-old Santa Fe man with a history of both domestic violence and violence in general after he left his battered wife at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center on Monday morning, then fled, according to Santa Fe police Capt. Gary Johnson and court documents. Steve Romero was later arrested and charged with kidnapping, aggravated battery on a household member and interference with communications.
That attack began Sunday, when Romero's 25-year-old wife drove to the couple's home in the 2700 block of Rincon Court and found Romero passed out from alcohol, Johnson said. The woman, who is 3 months pregnant, woke Romero and asked him to watch the couple's 4-year-old and 6-year-old sons while she went to the emergency room because she didn't feel well, he said.
However, Romero became upset and left the residence, Johnson said. The woman drove the two boys back to her parents' home in Pecos, then returned to the home on Rincon Court, he said.
Romero came back to the home highly intoxicated about 2:30 a.m. Monday, while the woman was asleep on a bed, police said. Romero turned on the lights, pulled the blankets off her and began yelling at her, according to a search warrant affidavit filed Tuesday in state District Court. At the time, Romero said to the woman, "Now I'll see if you like getting woken up from your sleep," Johnson said, quoting a police report.
Romero told the woman to get up, but she didn't move, the warrant says. Romero then punched her in the face several times, including one blow that knocked her off the bed and left her stunned on the floor, Johnson said. He then attempted to pick her up by her arms and legs but couldn't, so he pulled her back on the bed by her hair, the warrant states.
He repeatedly punched her and threw her to the floor again and broke her cell phone when she threatened to call 911, according to the warrant. Romero closed all the windows and shades in the room and repeatedly told her he was going to kill her. When he walked out of the room for a moment, the woman tried to climb out a window, but Romero caught her and pulled her back into the room, the warrant says.
He continued to beat her, and at one time lay on top of her and choked her, the warrant states. The woman was later able to make it to the bathroom, where she experienced severe abdominal pain. However, Romero stood over her and continued to strike her, then threw her into the bathtub and pulled her back out again, the warrant says.
"Steve realized (the woman) was in a lot of pain and told her she better not lose the baby," the warrant states.
Romero then drove the woman to the hospital, but warned her not to tell hospital personnel or the police what had happened or he'd kill her, Johnson said. Romero left the hospital "because he feared the police would arrive," the warrant says.
The woman suffered contusions to her face, black eyes, strangulation marks on her neck and bruising on her neck, face, arms and head, and clearly had hair torn from her head, Johnson said. Hospital personnel were able to detect a heartbeat from the baby, indicating it was still alive, he said.
A hospital spokesman said the woman no longer was in the hospital Tuesday afternoon.
The woman told police that Romero had beaten her before and that some of the incidents had been reported and some hadn't, Johnson said. "She said she's afraid of him because he's very violent," he said. The couple were together for 10 years and have been married for one year, he said.
In July 2007, the woman reported that Romero repeatedly punched her in the face, and an officer noticed her lips were swollen and bleeding and her eye was slightly swollen, according to a police report. Online court records do not indicate Romero was prosecuted in connection with that report.
In September 2006, a city officer reported seeing Romero slam another man's head into a concrete curb after both men were thrown out of a downtown nightclub. He later pleaded guilty to aggravated battery in connection with the case and was sentenced to 18 months probation, according to online court records.
In April 2001, Romero cocked a .40-caliber handgun and pointed it at another man at the Santa Fe Public Schools Career Academy, saying, "You want this?" according to a police report. Romero lowered the gun when a teacher walked up, but later admitted to bringing the gun to school, the report says. A month later, he pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence and was sentenced to 18 months of probation, according to online court records.
Court records also indicate that Romero pleaded guilty in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court to driving while intoxicated in April 2008 and was sentenced to 364 days of probation. He was charged in Sandoval County Magistrate Court on May 30 with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving with a suspended or revoked license, according to court records.
Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or :jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.
