Baby shower delivers bundle of arrests

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Lynette Tafoya's baby shower ended with a knife, Taser and handcuffs when Bernalillo County deputies stormed the party Saturday arresting seven people including Tafoya, her boyfriend and another mother-to-be.

Now the South Valley couple claims deputies took things too far when they broke up their celebration.

Tafoya, who is 8 months pregnant, told KRQE News 13 she thought she would be opening presents and hanging out with family, but instead she was cuffed, and hauled off to jail.

Left behind were broken fences, a kicked-in front door and scattered party decorations for what was to be a baby shower and matanza.

“There was no music," Tafoya said. "Just basic people talking, conversating.”

According to the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department someone called around 9:30 p.m. to report a loud party and possible gun shots.

When deputies arrived they said they didn't get a warm welcome from Tafoya's boyfriend Jonathan Alderete.

“Alderete responded with profanity," sheriff's spokesperson Erin Kinnard Thompson said.

Alderete admitted he mouthed off, and Tafoya said that's when she started breaking the party up on her own.

“I was telling everyone to leave," she said. "Everybody started walking inside or was leaving.

"After that we turned around and they (officers) jumped the fence, went forward and kicked the front door open."

According to a criminal complaint a deputy had been at the front of the home gathering more information for his incident report when Alderete advanced at him with a knife.

"The deputy drew his weapon and gave verbal commands to Alderete to drop the knife," Kinnard said.

Alderete then took off, she added.

“There was no knife pulled," Alderete said. "He didn't know I had a knife until he searched me.”

Alderete said he had the knife because he was using it to carve the pig cooked for the matanza.

Deputies arrested Alderete, his uncle, brother, mother, Tafoya, another pregnant woman and a friend.

Tafoya said the deputy handled her roughly during the arrest.

“He grabbed my arm and twisted it," she said. "I told him that I am supposed to be handcuffed in the front because I am pregnant, and he told me he didn't care.”

Alderete said both pregnant women were not treated well.

“They had them both on the ground," he said. "They didn't want to give them nothing to sit on, nothing.

"They handcuffed them behind their back. What if they fell and hurt the baby?”

Alderete said deputies fired three Taser darts into his uncle, but the sheriff's office said it only was two. Deputies described people at the party as combative.

Alderete said he wants to see dash-camera video from the patrol cars to prove he didn't pull a weapon.

However when News 13 asked sheriff's officials about that, they said it's doubtful there is any video of the arrest.