SUN Staff Report
7/23/09
A woman arrested by Española Police escaped from custody after an Española Jail guard who was supposed to be watching her at the hospital fell asleep.
Stephanie Lamb, 24, was originally arrested July 16 around 9:30 p.m. after police caught her trying to shoplift items from Wal-Mart, court documents state. When officers ran her name, they discovered she had a warrant out of Colorado.
Court documents provide the following account of the incident.
After 911 Dispatchers confirmed that Colorado law enforcement would be willing to extradite Lamb, she was taken to Española Hospital for a medical clearance because she was withdrawing from heroin. At about 12:30 a.m. July 17, Jail officer David Aveado reported Lamb was missing from her hospital room. Española Police and Aveado searched the hospital, while Santa Clara Tribal Police, State Police and Ohkay Owingeh Tribal Police were dispatched to search the nearby area.
Santa Clara Tribal Police officer Mark Sanchez spotted Lamb lying under a bush near the Blue Spruce Medical Center, across the street from Española Hospital, within a few minutes.
During questioning, Lamb told police she was waiting to be seen by hospital staff when she noticed Aveado fell asleep. She said she disguised herself using a blanket and exited the hospital because she didn’t want to serve time on her felony warrants in Colorado.
When Aveado was questioned by police, he admitted that Lamb escaped about 20 minutes before he reported her missing.
Jail Director Ted Garcia refused to say whether Aveado was suspended or fired because of the incident. Acting City Manager Veronica Albin said Aveado hadn’t been fired, suspended or disciplined, but some type of action against him was forthcoming.