Clovis, NM – Ninth Judicial District Attorney, Andrea Reeb, announced that today, Phillip B. Salazar, age 36, of Clovis, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, for the Kidnapping of his girlfriend on June 6, 2018.
Salazar was found guilty by a Curry County jury after a two-day trial that began on June 30, and ended in the evening of July 1, 2020 with the jury’s verdict. The case was the result of investigation by the Clovis Police Department into the incident where the defendant forced the victim into her apartment and physically assaulted her over the course of several hours. At the trial, two Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners testified about the extensive injuries to the victim.
“It strikes me to consider what you have taken from the victim, the right to feel secure in her home and in her own body,” commented District Judge Fred Van Soelen during the sentencing hearing. “There is only one person to blame, yourself.”
Judge Van Soelen imposed the maximum sentence and designated that the offence was classified as a serious violent offence, limiting the amount of good time reduction the defendant could receive. Salazar will now be transported to the New Mexico Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.
Chief Deputy District Attorney, Brian Stover and Assistant District Attorney Arwen Gaddis prosecuted the case for the State and criminal defense attorney, Sandra Gallagher, of Portales, represented Salazar.
For more information, please contact the District Attorney’s Office at 575-769-2246.
