Former police officer sentenced to 6-years for 2016 Roswell Subway robbery

Former Roswell police officer Valerie Palombi, 27, was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison for her role in the 2016 armed robbery of a Roswell Subway.

District Attorney John P. Sugg of the 12th Judicial District announced the sentencing by 5th Judicial District Judge James M. Hudson and gave details about the incident .

On June 28, 2016, the Roswell Police Department was dispatched to an armed robbery at the Subway Restaurant at 2901 N Main. Detectives learned that two employees at the

restaurant were held at gunpoint by a male suspect, who was later identified at Kevin Blake, Sugg related in the release.

Subsequent investigation revealed that Blake originally entered the store and ordered a sandwich. When one of the employees turned to grab the bread, Blake pulled a handgun from his right pocket and pointed the gun at the employee, Sugg said. 

Blake then walked the employee to the back of the restaurant where another employee was washing dishes. Blake ordered the two employees to get on the floor and threatened to shoot them if they moved, according to the release.

Held at gunpoint

While Blake was holding the two employees at gunpoint in the backroom, a woman entered the restaurant and removed about $600 from the register. The woman later was identified as former Roswell police officer Valerie Palombi, Sugg said.

After Palombi emptied the register, she and Blake fled the area.

Kevin Blake, 27, pleaded guilty to armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed

robbery on Aug. 16, 2017. On March 12, 2019, he was sentenced to serve 6 and a half years in prison, followed by five years of probation.

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Palombi was found guilty of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and two counts of resisting an officer after a three-day jury trial in February. Palombi will be required to serve at least 85 percent of her 6-year sentence, Sugg said. Upon release from prison, Palmobi will be required to serve five years of supervised probation.

Violent crime in New Mexico

CityRating.com stated on its website that the crime rate in New Mexico for 2019 is expected to be lower than in 2016, when the state violent crime rate was higher than the national violent crime rate average by 76.92 percent and the state property crime rate was higher than the national property crime rate average by 60.65 percent. 

Roswell was listed as the 10th most dangerous town in New Mexico by "Only in Your State," where one in every 17 residents is a victim of a crime.

Other cities in the "dangerous" top 10 list in descending order were:

• Hobbs
• Albuquerque
• Silver City
• Socorro
• Taos
• Farmington
• Artesia
• Gallup
• Espanola