ALAMOSA — In a heavily redacted police report obtained by the Valley Courier from the Alamosa Police Department (APD), officers with the APD report that, between 11 and 11:30 p.m. on the night of Friday, June 9 — the second night of “Carnival by the Rio” — an incident occurred resulting with a juvenile suspect being taken into custody after allegedly stabbing three adults. The incident took place in Cole Park where the carnival was held.
The suspect’s name and date of birth are not being released due to his juvenile status, but statements included in the report suggest he is about 15 years old.
Following the alleged assault, Steven Mattfeldt, 57, Chris Fowler, 56, and Santiago Ramos, 20, were transported to a local hospital. Mattfeldt and Fowler were treated for their injuries — and later released. Ramos, who suffered multiple stab wounds to the back, was transported to a hospital in Denver with his condition, at that time, listed as critical.
The juvenile suspect has been charged with two counts of assault in the first degree — a class three felony, one count of assault in the second degree — a class four felony, disorderly conduct, and tampering with evidence.
According to statements made in an interview with an APD officer by Mattfeldt, the carnival owner, a “group of younger people” had been at the carnival the night before and had allegedly stolen some of the stuffed animals. The “same group,” he says, returned the next night and, after the carnival had closed for the evening, were in an altercation with each other and standing on the owner’s tables.
In his statement, Fowler, one of Mattfeldt’s employees, said he had approached the group and told them to leave but, Fowler said, “they wanted to pick a fight.”
Mattfeldt then confronted the group. “Words were exchanged”, and a fight broke out. Fowler, Santiago Ramos — a newer employee who came to help — and Mattfeldt were all stabbed during the altercation.
Initially, three juveniles were thought to be involved. Two of the three were leaving the scene when APD arrived after on the scene on a report of a stabbing. The two juveniles were quickly apprehended by officers.
The third juvenile suspect was found on the ground where he was being held by several of the other carnival employees. According to the report, he still held a knife in his hand and both hands were covered in blood.
All three juveniles were transported to APD. After their guardians came to the station and they were interviewed by police, two of the three were released.
When the mother of the juvenile suspect arrived, both were advised of their rights followed by an interview of the suspect by an APD officer. The juvenile suspect said he would be in the 10th grade next year and understood why he was there. When asked what happened, the juvenile suspect held up his hands and said, “I did what I did.” He repeated that same phrase several times during the interview.
The teenager’s responses to the officers’ questions suggested that he leads a somewhat solitary life. Although his mother has custody, he lives with his grandmother and has no close relationships with his parents, siblings or friends. When asked who was the person he was closest to, the teenager said himself.
He also told the officer several times that he “didn’t care” about what happened to the victims. But, later in the interview, the officer basically called him on that behavior.
“I told (him) it seemed like he cares more than he’s saying he does,” the officer wrote. “He advised he does, but it is what it is. He said he's going to go to PYC and get good behavior and hopefully be out in 6 years. I asked if that is where he wanted to end up and he said no, but that is where he is going. He again said he was going to do six years because he tried to kill somebody, with no intent, but did stab someone. He said he never wanted it to go this way, but he did what he did, and they know what they did.”
In several places, the officer also noted that the teenager was crying in his report.
After the interview was concluded and the juvenile suspect was medically cleared, he was transported to Pueblo Youth Corrections, awaiting further judicial proceedings.
Whether Santiago Ramos remains in critical condition 10 days after the stabbing is not known at this time.
