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Danny Michael Baca died a violent death.

He was found Jan. 11, shot and burned, sprawled in the middle of a remote dirt road far into Pajarito Mesa.

But Baca's criminal history, dating back to the 1990s, doesn't jibe with his demise, authorities say.

"Mr. Baca does not have an extensive criminal history," Bernalillo County sheriff's Lt. Gregg Marcantel said Wednesday.

Baca, 53, was arrested on a charge of domestic violence in May after his ex-girlfriend alleged he choked her and pulled her hair when she and some friends arrived at Baca's home outside Chilili to remove some of her personal property.

The case was later dismissed because the courts did not consider the girlfriend a domestic relation to Baca, according to court records.

In other police documents, Baca lists his occupation as construction.

But his mother and another female relative refused to comment on Baca's occupation or to share memories of him.

"We don't want to talk about him," his mother, MaryJane Baca said from the home they shared west of Chilili.

Details about Baca were difficult to come by as sheriff's detectives as struggled to identify his body for several days after its discovery.

The only clue they had to his identity was a distinctive tattoo of a castle on a hill on his upper right arm.

Baca had a history of DWI, auto theft and shoplifting.

Still, Marcantel said, Baca's wasn't considered an extensive criminal history.

"Detectives are currently examining other elements of his personal background that may have played a role in his homicide," he said.