The arrest of Vincent Galvan began with a Clovis business owner looking for an employee’s stolen pickup.
FARWELL, Texas — A stolen pickup, a citizen’s search and a one-minute police chase helped authorities arrest a New Mexico homicide suspect accused of killing a woman who had been collecting evidence against him.
Vincent Galvan, 38, was taken into custody May 14 in Farwell, a small Texas Panhandle town just across the New Mexico line, after police say he fled from a traffic stop and crashed a pickup. The arrest happened two days after Roosevelt County deputies found Ricki Lee White, 38, dead inside an SUV on abandoned land near South Roosevelt Road 6. Investigators later charged Galvan with first-degree murder and said White had gathered records that could have sent him to jail.
The road to Galvan’s arrest began before police had linked him to the stolen truck case. Kip Defoor, a Clovis business owner, received a call from an employee who said he could not report to work because his pickup had been stolen. Defoor recognized the truck and began driving around Clovis. He found it on Mabry Drive and followed it. According to police accounts, the driver soon realized he was being tailed and fired several shots at Defoor. Defoor lost sight of the vehicle in residential streets but noticed it was moving toward Texas. He called law enforcement in Clovis and Farwell with that information.
Farwell officers found the stolen pickup abandoned near a local restaurant, but the driver was gone. The episode at first appeared separate from the homicide in Roosevelt County. That changed as officers discussed Galvan, who had been listed as a person of interest in White’s death along with Mercedes Salazar. Farwell Police Chief Larry Kelsay knew White sometimes stayed in Farwell with Donnie Chancellor, a friend. Kelsay called Chancellor and learned he was driving Galvan toward Clovis. Kelsay asked Chancellor to return to Farwell, setting up the stop that would end in a crash and arrest.
When officers stopped Chancellor’s vehicle, Chancellor got out as directed, but Galvan allegedly took control of the pickup and drove away at high speed. Police chased him for about one minute. The pickup crashed, and Galvan briefly tried to run before officers caught him. No injuries were reported in the crash. Investigators later said surveillance from a Clovis truck stop tied Galvan to the stolen pickup that Defoor had followed earlier. The arrest placed Galvan in custody in Texas, where he faces charges tied to the pursuit before he is expected to be returned to New Mexico.
The homicide case had started May 12, when Roosevelt County deputies responded to a tip about a possible body inside a vehicle. Deputies found White’s decomposing body in a white SUV parked on abandoned property a few miles from Texas. Officials called in the Major Crimes Unit to process the scene. Ninth Judicial District Attorney Quentin Ray confirmed May 15 that White’s death was a homicide. Sheriff Javier Sanchez said investigators wanted to speak with Galvan and Salazar as persons of interest, though Galvan had not yet been charged in the killing when he was first arrested in Texas.
Investigators now believe White was last known alive at 7:31 p.m. May 4 and was shot between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. May 5. A cellphone Salazar said she had loaned to Galvan was tracked to the area of White’s death during that period, according to court records. Inside the SUV, investigators reported finding a folder with discovery tied to prior alleged crimes. Authorities said the folder supported their belief that White had been compiling evidence to use against Galvan. Police said it was not immediately clear whether everything in the folder had already been known to investigators before White’s death.
Other evidence described in court records includes a 9 mm pistol found in the vehicle Galvan used while fleeing police. Investigators said the gun appeared to have dried blood on its frame. The caliber matched the projectile recovered from White’s body, according to the affidavit. Police also said Galvan made statements to friends admitting he killed White because she had been threatening him. In a jail call recorded after his arrest, Galvan told his mother he knew a friend was setting him up to be caught. He said “a part of me … felt I needed to be caught for this stuff,” investigators wrote.
The records also describe a volatile relationship between Galvan and White. The two were on again and off again for years, according to people interviewed by investigators. One witness said they fought frequently and had once pointed guns at each other. Police records showed several calls for service involving the couple. White reported in August 2025 that Galvan shot at her or damaged a tire. She reported another domestic incident in April 2026 and said he had burned down a camper where she had been staying. Authorities said some incidents were reported, but others were not.
White’s death has left friends and family balancing grief with frustration over what they say was a long pattern of danger. Shawna Toussaint, who described White as her sister, said she knew police had been called several times over domestic situations involving Galvan. Toussaint said White had gone to eastern New Mexico after a breakup, hoping to begin again. Friends described White as a free spirit who could be guarded but deeply protective of people she loved. Their comments stand alongside an affidavit that portrays White as someone trying to build a record before she was killed.
For now, Galvan is charged in New Mexico with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He remains jailed in Farwell while the Texas charges are handled. Sanchez said he will be extradited to New Mexico after that case is adjudicated.
Author note: Last updated June 21, 2026.