Española City Police officers arrested an Alcalde man June 20 at the Shell gas station on Riverside Drive, on multiple outstanding warrants, then charged him with three counts of possession of a controlled substance after searching him.
Sgt. Anthony Martinez wrote in a criminal complaint for Brandon Abeyta’s arrest that he spotted a maroon Cadillac SUV parked at the gas station. That specific vehicle was noted as likely belonging to Abeyta, 36, who had been accused earlier in the week of trying to use a fake $100 bill.
“I also knew that Mr. Brandon Abeyta had a warrant for his arrest as his name had been run through the National Crime Information Center in reference to the fraudulent bill,” Martinez wrote.
Martinez pulled his patrol car around and parked at the gas station, waiting for Abeyta to come out of the building. Once he did, Martinez approached him, arrested him and searched him. Dispatchers confirmed that Abeyta was wanted on a New Mexico State Police warrant filed in magistrate court.
During the search, Martinez removed a brown bag from his right pocket. Inside, there was a pill bottle and a clear plastic baggie with white powder. Among the suspected drugs were a clear shard of methamphetamine and cocaine or fentanyl, a white powder.
Martinez also removed a suspected counterfeit $100 bill from Abeyta’s wallet, “as I was told by the store cashier that he was attempting to pay with it,” he wrote.
The warrant Abeyta was arrested on was for two counts of possession of a controlled substance and speeding, for an incident on Oct. 1, 2024, where State Police Officer Nathaniel Garcia clocked him going 70 mph on Riverside Drive near Valley Drive.
He then sealed Abeyta’s car and searched it, armed with a search warrant, but for reasons he never wrote down, didn’t charge Abeyta until five months later.
Abeyta failed to appear for an arraignment set on April 28 and Rio Arriba Magistrate Judge Alexandra Naranjo issued a bench warrant for his arrest, served by Martinez.
In that case, Magistrate Judge Joseph Madrid ordered him released, but to report to pre-trial services and to be heavily supervised.
Madrid set the same conditions of release for Abeyta in the newest case.
Abeyta is facing a separate case in District Court on a charge of possession of a controlled substance for an incident on Nov. 10, 2024, after he waived a preliminary hearing.
That case is set for a pre-trial conference in September.