Valencia County deputies charge Belen woman in fatal RV encounter

Valencia County deputies say a Belen woman is behind bars after Gerald Marquez Jr. was found dead near Square Deal Road and Cielo Vista Road, with investigators linking an RV seen in the area to the fatal encounter.

The Valencia County Sheriff’s Office said deputies found Marquez dead on Saturday night, May 9, 2026, after 8 p.m., and early evidence suggested he may have been hit by a vehicle. Investigators said Marquez was found partially in the roadway, and the RV was later secured for evidence.

Deputies connected that vehicle to Dejohni Orndorff, whom they said had argued with Marquez earlier that night. Orndorff now faces a charge of second-degree murder, the most serious homicide charge short of first-degree murder. New Mexico law classifies second-degree murder as a second-degree felony involving the death of a human being, and it can apply when a person acts without lawful justification or excuse, outside of sufficient provocation or heat of passion, while knowing the conduct creates a strong probability of death or great bodily harm.

What remains unclear is how the RV was used in the encounter, whether investigators believe the crash was intentional, and whether deputies see any broader public safety threat to Belen or nearby communities. So far, the case centers on the arrest, the roadway where Marquez was found, the disputed sequence of events before his death and the murder charge now lodged against Orndorff.

For Valencia County, the case reaches beyond a single roadway. The county has an estimated population of 78,080, and the sheriff’s office says its mission is to serve and protect life and property. In a place where Belen, Los Chavez and other communities are connected by the same roads and neighborhoods, a fatal vehicle-related assault quickly becomes a countywide concern for investigators, courts and residents alike.

The case now moves into the court system, where prosecutors will have to show what evidence ties the RV to the death and what happened during the argument deputies say preceded it. The public record has not yet laid out a full timeline, leaving the next hearings to determine how much of the confrontation can be proven in open court.