Española City Police are investigating a case that began as a breaking and entering call but escalated when police found a woman bound to a recliner with a cord around her hands, feet and neck. One man is now facing charges in the case.
Jose Ulibarri, 44, of Hernandez, has been charged with one count of breaking and entering and one count of resisting, evading or obstructing an officer. EPD Officer Andrew O’Hara was dispatched at 9:28 a.m. Saturday, to Calle Amorada because three people appeared to be breaking into a house, his criminal complaint against Ulibarri said.
When O’Hara arrived on scene, he could hear movement in the house. He tried to open the front door, but it was locked, so he requested back-up because in addition to the movement, he could also hear a conversation between a man and a woman inside the house.
“I began callouts at the front door, identifying myself as Espanola Police and to come to the door with their hands up and open,” he wrote. “I provided several callouts and other officers on scene were at the back door.”
The movement stopped after a few minutes and O’Hara asked Española dispatch to call the homeowner and ask their permission for officers to get in the house by “any means necessary.” Dispatch said the homeowner, Adrian Lopez, 43, gave permission and that’s when O’Hara tried unsuccessfully to get in through the front door. Other officers told him there was an inward-facing door on the back side of the house, so he went there and forced it open. All the other officers got into the house and began clearing it, the criminal complaint said.
“I made my way to the far north/west side bedroom and observed one female individual sitting up right (sic) in a recliner facing the door,” O’Hara wrote. “I began to give directives to the female to show me her hands and get on the floor. I observed the female was tied at the ankles, wrists and neck.”
Officer Dustin Chavez cut the cord binding the woman, later identified as Amalia Cano, 43, while O’Hara cleared the rest of the room. The woman was put on the floor, where she began gasping for air, the complaint said. Officers were tending to her while O’Hara continued to clear the house.
He began to clear the bedroom to the south of where Cano was found and saw a man, later identified as Ulibarri, hiding in the closet, under and behind several items, the complaint said.
O’Hara pointed his gun at Ulibarri and told him to show his hands, however, he did not comply. Ulibarri was taken out of the closet and handcuffed behind his back. He was read the Miranda Warning and agreed to answer questions.
“I asked him what his name is and he provided Jose Ulibarri,” O’Hara wrote. “I asked him if there was anyone else inside the house and he stated ‘well you already got her.’”
Ulibarri was put into O’Hara’s patrol unit and he requested a detective be sent to the scene. No one else was found in the house, the criminal complaint said.
“Jose stated the (sic) were hiding from her boyfriend because he was chasing them with a gun,” O’Hara wrote.
Meanwhile, personnel with the Española Valley Emergency Medical Services and the Española Fire Department arrived on scene and began tending to Cano, who had not regained consciousness but was breathing. She was transported to the Española Hospital.
O’Hara then called Lopez to ask if there were three people on surveillance, but the man said he only saw a man and woman go into the house. Lopez said he didn’t give anyone permission to be in the house. He said he was out of town and not able to respond, but his father was on the way and Lopez gave him verbal permission to sign a consent to search authorization to get items involved in the incident, the criminal complaint said.
“Adrian emailed video surveillance to me and I reviewed the footage that shows Jose and the unidentified female walking around the front of the house, checking the front door; and did not appear to be in a rush; and continued to the back side of the residence and climbed through a window, and closed it after making entry,” O’Hara wrote.
Chavez later went to the hospital to check on Cano and was told by a doctor that she may be brain-dead and was intubated, the complaint said.
Chief Mizel Garcia said Tuesday morning that Cano was still in the hospital, but was now conscious.
The scene was turned over to Detective Dominic Ellis with the Española Criminal Investigations Division and investigation is ongoing.