A transient arrested near Houston last week is fighting his return to New Mexico to face murder charges, Texas County Sheriff Carl Watson said Monday.
Watson said 21-year-old Andrew Newman is wanted in connection with a May 2 stabbing death in Albuquerque, N.M. Authorities said the man also is claiming that he murdered a woman in Taos, N.M., and stuffed the body in a barrel. Watson said authorities confirm that crime, but it is unclear whether Newman might have been involved.
Newman did not waive extradition, and authorities are seeking a governor’s warrant to return him to New Mexico, Watson said. He remains in the Texas County Jail.
Newman had been in the county for three or four days after apparently arriving by train at Cabool, where authorities earlier had checked him.
Newman was most recently questioned last Tuesday by a county deputy near Dog’s Bluff after a report that Newman was attempting to flag traffic. Later, Newman arrived at a house on Highway Z west of Houston. Two teenagers, ages 15 and 17, gave the man some water after he requested it, fed him and called their parents who arrived a short time later at the residence situated about 4 1/2 miles off Highway 17. Alarmed by the man’s behavior, the homeowner drove the man to the Texas County Sheriff’s Department.
Once there, officers fingerprinted Newman, and records showed that he is wanted for murder in Bernalillo County, N.M. A check also showed Newman was sought in connection with a burglary in Seattle.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, Newman is wanted in connection with a stabbing death in an apartment. A man who lived in the unit told police he had been drinking with the victim and a transient, later identified as Newman.
The resident took a shower and when he came back into the living room, he found the victim lying on the couch with stab wounds to his torso. Newman, who was identified using documents from previous jail bookings, quickly fled the area, according to a complaint.