William Romero

On the night of Friday, November 22, 2019, a dispute in a Clovis, New Mexico neighborhood ended in gunfire, taking the life of William Romero. The 28-year-old Hispanic man was a husband and the father of three young daughters. At about 10:20 p.m., Clovis Police Department officers were sent to the 1300 block of West 8th Street after a caller reported hearing a gunshot. A second call quickly followed, stating that a man had been shot. When police arrived, they found Romero deceased on the steps of a residence.

Investigators learned the shooting had been preceded by a series of confrontations. According to court documents, an argument had occurred earlier in the day between Romero and 34-year-old Steven Hogues, reportedly over drugs. Hogues had been living in a modified garage on the property. Later that night, Romero’s wife said, her husband told Hogues and another man to take a separate argument outside the main house. A physical fight then broke out in the backyard between Romero and Hogues.

Following the fight, Romero went into the kitchen, grabbed a large knife, and went back outside, where he slashed the tires on Hogues’ vehicle. In response, Hogues retrieved a pistol from his car. After a magazine fell to the ground, he picked it up, loaded the weapon, and fired a single shot at Romero. The bullet entered Romero’s lower left back and exited near his upper right chest. A neighbor who heard the shot came outside to find Romero’s wife and Romero lying face down. Investigators later recovered a .40 caliber casing and a large knife from the driveway.

The Clovis Police Department’s Special Operations Unit and Major Crimes Unit launched a homicide investigation. A witness identified the shooter by his first name, Steven, and his street name, “Malicious,” which led police to identify Steven Hogues as the suspect. An arrest warrant was issued for Hogues on charges of an open count of murder and felon in possession of a firearm.

A search for Hogues ended two days later. In the early morning hours of Sunday, November 24, 2019, the Randall County Sheriff’s Office located him in a vehicle in a business parking lot in Amarillo, Texas. He was taken into custody without incident. As of late November 2019, authorities were arranging for Hogues to be extradited from Texas to New Mexico to face charges. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Clovis Police Department at 575-769-1921 or Crime Stoppers at 575-763-7000.