A 19-year-old Alcalde man will have a charge of aggravated fleeing an officer, a fourth-degree felony, dropped to a misdemeanor resisting/evading arrest. The charge is for allegedly nearly causing a crash in the middle of Española after he lost control of his vehicle, while being chased, in a case where he allegedly said he intentionally tried to outrun the police.
Ayden Martinez waived a preliminary hearing in the case on June 18, on the grounds, handwritten on a waiver form, “in exchange for offer to resisting, evading, obstructing upon or within one month of arraignment in district court.”
The case was filed in Rio Arriba District Court on July 15 and arraignment was set virtually for July 24 in front of District Judge Anastasia Martin.
Española City Police Officer David Jaramillo charged Martinez with aggravated fleeing an officer and reckless driving, a petty misdemeanor, on April 19.
Jaramillo wrote in a statement of probable cause that he was headed to a call when a yellow Ford Mustang neared the intersection of Valley and Riverside drives, revved its engine and when the light turned green, sped off to the south. Jaramillo diverted from the call he had been dispatched to, to chase the Mustang.
He turned on his lights and siren and gave chase, while the Mustang passed cars in the median. As it passed State Road 76, it started to fishtail, almost crashed into a few other vehicles and stopped in the median in front of the County Farm Supply store, just before Paseo de Oñate, on Riverside, Jaramillo wrote.
He ordered Martinez out of the car and arrested him. While at the scene, a man ran up and told him that he was almost hit by the Mustang, and that he had to slam on his brakes to avoid a collision, he wrote.
Martinez first allegedly told Jaramillo that he has two jobs and didn’t know he was supposed to work that morning at the Pizza Hut, he wrote.
“I advised him the Pizza Hut was behind us that he passed it way back,” Jaramillo wrote. “He stated he knew and when I asked then why are we stopped here? He advised me ‘I’m not going to lie I was trying to out run you guys when I saw your lights.’”