An Española man was charged with possession of a controlled substance after being arrested in a probation visit at his house.
Probation officers called New Mexico State Police to help them do an unannounced “field call” at Lawrence Serrano’s house on May 16. Serrano, 42, was on probation in two drunk driving while intoxicated, seventh offense cases, one in Santa Fe County and one in Rio Arriba County, both from 2019. While the cases were closed, Serrano was still on probation and had repeatedly failed to meet the conditions of his probation by using methamphetamine, Probation and Parole Officer Renee Gonzales wrote.
Inside the house, officers saw syringes and foils and when asked, Serrano said he used methamphetamine a day prior, Gonzales wrote.
State Police Officer Nathaniel Garcia arrested him at his house on May 16 and as he was bringing him to his patrol car, Serrano allegedly told him, “I might as well give you what’s in my pocket.” In his pocket was a white powder, which Serrano identified as methamphetamine, Garcia wrote in a criminal complaint.
During an interrogation at the State Police office, Serrano told Garcia that the foils in his pocket had psychedelic mushrooms in them.
Rio Arriba Magistrate Judge Alexandra Naranjo released him on pre-trial supervision three days later and a status conference is set for later this month.
An evidentiary hearing on the probation violation charges in District Court is set for June 24.