The trial of Española firefighter Cesar Vargas on charges of negligent use of a firearm and obstructing an officer is scheduled for Dec. 2 in Rio Arriba County Magistrate Court in Española, according to court documents
The charges stem from a Oct. 30 incident at Vargas’ Española home in which police responded to a call about someone making suicidal threats, a police report states.
Vargas, 43, was intoxicated, according to the report, and told police he felt the medications he was taking weren’t working.
After conferring with Sgt. Christian Lopez, officer Jeff R. Martinez decided to take Vargas into protective custody to be detoxed, because a doctor would not evaluate him until he was sober, documents state. Vargas asked Martinez not to be placed in protective custody, suggesting he could call someone to come stay with him at home instead, but Martinez explained this was not possible.
While Martinez and Vargas were waiting for paramedics to arrive, Vargas asked to retrieve something from another room, according to court documents. Martinez stood at the doorway of Vargas’ bedroom, heard something unsnap, and saw that Vargas was holding a pistol and starting to raise it. Martinez approached Vargas from behind, grabbed him around his neck, and after a brief struggle, knocked the gun out of his hand. Vargas was then handcuffed.
Upon inspection, Martinez discovered the pistol was loaded, documents state.
Instead of being taken into protective custody, Vargas was then transported to Española Hospital because the situation “appeared to be more of a medical call,” documents state. He was placed in the intensive care unit at the hospital to be closely monitored until he sobered up and ultimately taken to St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe for further evaluation.
Vargas’ guns were taken into safe keeping for two weeks, Española Police Sgt. Christian Lopez said.
Two rifles and a handgun were taken into safe keeping the last time Vargas had a run-in with the law on May 2 of this year, according to a police report. No charges have been filed in this case.
Vargas allegedly pointed a handgun at his son Gavin and threatened to kill him, before damaging his son’s vehicle with a tow truck. Lopez said police decided not to charge Vargas because the victim was uncooperative with investigators.
The report notes that Gavin Vargas could not provide police with contact information for witnesses, but also noted “heavy damage” to the passenger side window and door of Gavin Vargas’ vehicle. The report list possible charges as aggravated assault, aggravated battery and criminal damage to property.
A tow truck also featured prominently in a 2005 incident Vargas was involved in, but never charged for, according to a police report. Vargas was drunk, had been off his anti-anxiety medication for two weeks, and was using a tow truck he drove for the City Councilor-Anthony VanderVossen to ram a Honda Accord he shared with his girlfriend city Weed and Seed Director Stephanie Marquez-Martinez, the report states.
Vargas was taken into protective custody but not charged, as he was only destroying his own property, then-police chief Richard Guillen said at the time.
Vargas had three charges of battery, aggravated battery, and battery against a household member dismissed in 2001 because they were filed in the wrong county, according to court documents. Vargas was accused of beating his then-wife at Allsup’s in Española, which is in Santa Fe County; the charges were filed in Rio Arriba County and dismissed 14 months later, according to court documents.
At the time, Vargas denied the charges, saying the alleged victim hit him in the eye with her cell phone, causing him to need surgery. Assistant District Attorney Anne Keener, handling domestic violence cases in Santa Fe, said at the time she would not reopen the case in Santa Fe County because she never received a request from Española Police to do so.
After the May incident, Española Fire Chief John Kitchen said the Fire Department would continue to stand behind Vargas unless investigation proved his son’s versions of events was true. Last week, Kitchen said the Oct. 30 incident was a private matter because it occurred when he was not on duty, and did not affect his ability to do his job. Vargas is currently on paid administrative leave pending a doctor’s clearance for him to return to work, Kitchen said.
“Law enforcement can lose their certification — firefighters cannot,” Kitchen said. “Once you get it, you got it.”
Paul Carbajal, spokesman for the state Public Regulation Commission, which oversees the state Fire Marshal’s office, said requirements for firefighter certification vary throughout the state, with larger municipalities such as Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces tending to have more stringent qualifications than rural areas.
Kitchen said if a firefighter was convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, such as theft, it would be grounds for his termination under city of Española policy.
City Manager Veronica Albin said Vargas’ situation is a personnel matter that would be handled individually, and did not care to comment on his fitness to work in a high-stress career such as firefighting.
“There’s probably things that if they were to occur would be grounds for termination,” Albin said, “But I don’t want to speculate on what they would be.”
Española City Council Public Safety Director Dennis Salazar said last week that because of the exact details of Vargas’ recent arrest, he feels uncomfortable commenting on whether it was appropriate for him to continue working as an Española firefighter. Española Police Chief Julian Gonzales also declined to comment, saying Vargas’ situation is a personnel matter.
Vargas has refused to comment on the latest incident.