CRIME
Yearslong neighbor dispute ends with SWAT team arresting father and son
Pair allegedly harassed a neighbor and repeatedly threatened to kill her teenage son
A simmering dispute between neighbors in the South Valley led the Bernalillo County Sheriff鈥檚 Office to arrest a father and son, remove nine children from the family鈥檚 home and condemn the property.
Vincent Chavez Sr., 51, is charged with stalking, aggravated stalking, criminal damage to property and bribery of a witness. His son, 18-year-old Vincent Chavez Jr., is charged with one count of bribery or intimidation of a witness and criminal damage to property.
The two were arrested and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on July 31 and have been released on their own recognizance. It is unclear if either has an attorney.
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said in an email that deputies deployed the SWAT team with the goal of ensuring the children鈥檚 safety and serving arrest warrants.
鈥淭wo arrests were made, nine children were removed from unsafe living conditions, animals were taken into protective custody and the property was condemned,鈥 Allen said.
A BCSO detective went to the home in the 900 block of Bernice SW on July 28 after a woman called and said her neighbors had damaged her property on multiple occasions, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
The woman told police that she and her family members had been receiving death threats from the Chavez family for nearly five years, the complaint states.
Chavez Jr. had allegedly sent the woman a Facebook message on July 14 in which he threatened to beat her up and steal her car, sending a video that deputies described as 鈥渟hocking to the conscience and would be likely to cause traumatic responses to a reasonable person,鈥 according to the complaint.
The video showed a corpse being dismembered, the complaint states. The woman told deputies the July incident was only the most recent in a string of disputes that occurred in the neighborhood, the woman told deputies.
From April 2025 to July of this year, the Chavezes had allegedly threatened to kill the woman鈥檚 14-year-old son on multiple occasions and fired BB pellets at her window, among other incidents, according to the complaint. In total, the Chavezes allegedly caused over $7,000 worth of property damage.
On July 25, Chavez Jr. and a juvenile, who was not identified in court records, allegedly threw rocks at the woman鈥檚 vehicle and home, the complaint states.
A video from the home鈥檚 surveillance camera shows two boys picking up multiple rocks before approaching the property, throwing the rocks at the home and a vehicle, according to the complaint.
BCSO later sent a SWAT team to the home 鈥渂ased on the history at this property and the risks involved,鈥 according to Allen. The property was condemned due to unsafe living conditions.
A judge in May requested that Chavez Jr. undergo a competency exam stemming from a March 2026 case after the teen allegedly fled from police before crashing into another vehicle.
Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.