Rio Arriba County deputies got close to catching a man wanted on several warrants, after allegedly shooting at Española City Police and fleeing on Oct. 24, but he got away after crashing into a ravine.
Deputies were engaged in a vehicle pursuit on Nov. 3 on State Road 75 with Daniel Romero aka “Oso” after Deputy Nicholas Diaz received a call from Española Dispatch advising him that New Mexico State Police got a tip that Romero was sighted near the Picuris Travel Center. Romero has several active warrants for his arrest charging him with vehicular homicide, failure to comply with conditions of release, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, shooting from a motor vehicle and parole violation.
State Police requested that RASO deputies set up near the Taos/Rio Arriba county line on State Road 75, to catch Romero in case he fled from NMSP in his vehicle, Diaz’s affidavit for an arrest warrant on Romero said. Diaz coordinated with RASO Sgt. Jonathan Coriz and set up near the State Road 580 and State Road 75 intersection. They got there around 2:40 p.m. and 10 minutes later, a woman driving a dark-colored car stopped in front of their patrol vehicles and asked if they were looking for Romero. She said she had just seen him nearby in a red car, parked behind a house on State Road 75. They went to the house and saw Romero.
“Upon arrival, I observed a red in color sedan parked behind the house exactly as she stated,” Diaz wrote.
Diaz got out of his vehicle with his rifle and told Coriz about what he saw, which was a man standing there with the car hood up, checking something in the engine compartment. The man overhead Diaz’s conversation with Coriz, looked at the deputy through the bushes, noticed it was law enforcement and frantically closed the hood of the vehicle.
“… At that point it was clear he was trying to flee from us,” Diaz wrote. “I told Sergeant Coriz he was running, and immediately began closing distance to the male’s location. I shouted to the male to show me his hands and at that point I was able to positively identify the male as Daniel Romero as he looked straight at me.”
Romero jumped into the driver’s seat of the red car and took off at a high rate of speed, driving through the yard while fleeing from Coriz, who was running after him, the affidavit said. Romero continued driving through the yard, almost hitting a mobile home.
Diaz called over the radio, requesting help from additional personnel, he wrote. He ran back to his patrol vehicle and drove down State Road 75, trying to find the Mustang Romero fled in. A short distance down the road, he spotted the car, which appeared to be stuck in soft dirt. He shouted commands for any occupants to show him their hands but didn’t see anyone in the car. When he walked up to the car, it was empty, but still in drive and high-centered down a steep ravine, with the rear wheels spinning in the air. The deputy turned off the car and put it in park so it wouldn’t roll down the ravine and crash into the mobile home below, he wrote.
RASO deputies, with help from the Española Police Department, Taos County Sheriff’s Office and NMSP, searched the area for hours, trying to find Romero, but called off the search at 6:30 p.m. A nearby resident had video surveillance of the incident and allowed Diaz to see it.
“He showed me a few clips from his surveillance cameras, and I was able to clearly see Daniel exit the red in color Ford Mustang prior to our arrival,” Diaz wrote. “I observed Daniel open the hood of the vehicle and he appeared to be checking something in the engine compartment.”
After viewing the surveillance footage, Diaz did a tow inventory so JV Towing could take the car. He found clothing, a yellow jump box and other miscellaneous household goods, he wrote. However, he also found a black sock that was filled with something on the floorboard near the front driver seat.
“As I went to move the black sock, I heard the sounds of change jingling inside and decided to dump it out to document any cash inside,” Diaz wrote. “Inside the sock, several clear Ziplock plastic baggies were inside with various substances that were clearly illegal drugs. I collected the black sock into evidence and secured it inside of my patrol vehicle.
When he cleared the scene at 8:59 p.m. Diaz went back to RASO and began looking at what was in black sock. He found:
• 140 small, round blue pills (suspected fentanyl)
• 19 small, round white pills (suspected oxycodone)
• 23.9 grams of suspected fentanyl powder
• 30.1 grams of suspected methamphetamine
• 16.2 grabs of suspected crack cocaine
“This discovery not only highlights his involvement in drug-related activities but also adds to the already extensive list of felony charges he faces, including multiple outstanding felony warrants,” the RASO Facebook page said following the incident. “The presence of these drugs in the vehicle indicates that Romero poses a considerable threat to the safety and well-being of the community.”
Meanwhile, RASO and other law enforcement agencies continue to search for Romero. RASO Sheriff Billy Merrifield is confident that they will find him.
“With the partnership of Taos County Sheriff’s Office, New Mexico State Police and Task Force officers from the Department of Corrections, we are still actively following every lead, every call from the public and searching every location that Daniel Romero ‘Oso’ may be at,” Merrifield said. “I can assure you, in due time, we will arrest him.”
Romero is 43 years old, 5’11” tall, weighs 210 pounds and has brown hair and facial tattoos. He’s charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon, aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer and shooting at or from a motor vehicle, after the Oct. 24 incident.
Anyone with information on Romero’s whereabouts is asked to call RASO at 753-3329 or call Merrifield directly at 505-240-7980.