Levi Chavez violates conditions of release

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A judge says Levi Chavez, the former Albuquerque Police Officer accused of killing his wife in 2007, violated his conditions of release and ordered him back to jail after increasing his bond.

Levi Chavez is charged with the murder of Tera Chavez. He's accused of shooting her with his police-issued gun in 2007, then staging the scene to look like a suicide.

Tera's brother Josh Cordova accused Chavez of following him into a bathroom on CNM's main campus, then cursing at him in a threatening manner. Cordova is a potential witness in the murder trial.

Chavez was ordered to have no contact with potential witnesses, which Cordova is.

Chavez painted a very different picture of their meeting court. He said he was in the bathroom first and that neither one said a word to each other.

Chavez then told the judge he knew police would be called because he and his attorney believe Tera's family is out to get him.

When prosecutors grilled Chavez he snapped back in court by saying his dead wife's family lie.

"Yeah, he's a liar," Chavez said on the stand. "The whole family is liars."

The judge ruled that Chavez violated his conditions of release and increased his bond to $200,000.

After Chavez was handcuffed, Tera's family spoke out about his allegations on the stand.

"We're not liars, we don't make up stuff to put my family through this my son Joshua has to stand up for his rights here," Joseph Cordova said. "No, we're not after Levi, we want justice."

Chavez's murder trial has been pushed back to next year because the original judge in the case resigned.

He's accused of killing his wife to keep her from reporting him for insurance fraud.