Santa Fe police are investigating a possible homicide in the 1500 block of Paseo de Peralta.
Police were called to the scene just before 8 a.m. Thursday, Santa Fe police Capt. Anthony Tapia said. The victim, who police said was in his late 40s, was found in a courtyard among businesses behind the Allsup’s at South Guadalupe Street and Cerrillos Road.
“What the detectives found at the scene led us to believe this is not natural causes,” Tapia said.
Detectives were still trying to notify the man’s next of kin Thursday, and would not release the victim’s name until that had been done, Tapia said.
Business owner Richard Martinez, whose Architecture Studio is near the courtyard where the body was found, said he got to work before police arrived.
Soon after, he heard police sirens, Martinez said.
When he asked what was going on, officers told him an investigation was in progress but would not provide him with further details.
Martinez said it is common to see homeless people in the area and that he knew someone had been on his porch in the past few days because he found garbage outside his door.
Tapia said he could not confirm whether the man who died was homeless. The victim had an identification card with him, but it’s unknown whether the address on it was current, he said.
Martinez, as well as employees at Allsup’s and the nearby Brake Masters, said police asked if they had surveillance footage of the area where the man was found. Martinez and a Brake Masters employee said they did not, while an employee at Allsup’s told police they would need to contact the corporate office.
Police ask that anyone with information about the incident call the department at 505-428-3710 or Detective Rebecca Hilderbrandt at 505-955-5265.