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CRIME
Judge orders counts severed in 2023 abuse death case
Chacon to have separate trial for Medicaid Fraud
Published
BERNALILLO — One of the women charged in the abuse death case from 2023 will have separate trials.
Angelita Chacon, a woman accused of causing the death of disabled woman Mary Melero while she was in her care in Rio Rancho, was charged with abuse of a resident resulting in death, two counts of false imprisonment, Medicaid fraud, two counts of kidnapping and tampering with evidence in 2023.
Chacon was scheduled for a change of plea hearing Feb. 16, and the judge ordered that the counts in her case be severed Feb. 24, which will change the way she is tried.
Now, she will get one trial for the Medicaid fraud charge and another for all the other charges, according to the judge's order. Defense's motion for this change was filed in 2024.
The motion for the change of plea was filed by the state prosecution Feb. 3.
The case is still scheduled for a September trial, according to court records.
Melero was under the care of the women charged in the case with the Developmentally Disabled program through At Home Advocacy.
Chacon and Patricia Hurtado-Estrada were stopped at the Mexican border in a van that belonged to Luz Scott, another woman charged with other counts in the case. Border agents found Melero rolled up in a carpet on the floor board. She had sustained neglect-related injuries as well as other injuries. At the time, the women claimed they were trying to get Melero to a hospital.
Melero later died at a hospital in Rio Rancho.
It was discovered later that the women were allegedly falsifying Medicaid records for Melero with the help of Keyona Zamora.
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Recently, Hurtado-Estrada, the other woman charged with abuse in the case, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap and one count of Medicaid fraud. Zamora was a Medicaid representative who pleaded guilty to Medicaid fraud and falsifying documents tied to the case. Their sentencing will occur after the trials are completed.
