About Cary CrimeStoppers

When horrible things happen, we often ask that they not be in vain. It was precisely this scenario that Michael Carmen fell victim to, losing his life to two assailants during an armed robbery in July 1976. As a result of that murder, detectives with the Albuquerque Police Department teamed up with KOAT TV-7 to request anonymous information about the murder and offer a cash reward.

Michael Carmen was a young University of New Mexico student working at a small gas station in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights in July 1976. He was only two weeks away from marrying his high school sweetheart. He worked an extra shift the night he was killed because one of his friends needed the night off.

On that fateful Friday night, two men robbed Michael’s gas station and then—for no apparent reason—fired a shotgun blast from less than 10 feet into his abdomen. Remarkably, Michael lived for more than four hours after the shooting. Several times he tried to tell detectives who shot him, but he didn’t have the strength. He died on the operating table without being able to make a dying declaration.

Detective Greg MacAleese was one of the detectives working on that case. The murder seemed so senseless at the time. It remains senseless today. But Detective MacAleese told Michael’s mother he would bring his killers to justice. And yet, after six weeks of trying to piece the evidence together to solve the murder, they were no closer to a solution than they were the night he was killed.

Det. Greg MacAleese had the idea of asking the TV station to reenact and broadcast the crime. Det. MacAleese approached Max Sklower, then general manager of KOAT-TV in Albuquerque, and asked him if they could reenact the crime for one of his newscasts.

The reasoning for reenacting the crime was simple. There was an eyewitness to Michael’s murder somewhere in the community. The only logical approach was to get the media to help find that witness. If they reenacted the crime, it might trigger the memory of a potential eyewitness, someone who might have seen part of the crime committed but not understand what they were witnessing.

IT WORKED! On September 8, 1976, at 10 p.m., the first crime reenactment aired on the newscast. The following day, Albuquerque PD received a call from a young man who told them he had watched the news segment the night before and remembered some essential information.

This tip led to this tragic case being solved by Albuquerque detectives. As a result of the newscast, police received nonrelated information and advice, which played an essential part in solving a handful of other local crimes. Local business people and citizens quickly volunteered their time, talent, and money to start the first CrimeStoppers program, Albuquerque Metro CrimeStoppers.

Because of this huge success, CrimeStoppers programs are now worldwide. The local programs are responsible for assisting in solving serious crimes by offering cash rewards to tipsters. The state programs offer an opportunity for local programs to work together on a broader scale to enhance their capabilities and networks and provide ongoing support, training, and education.