A Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Department deputy allegedly told the victims of a Nov. 24 burglary whom to vote for in next year’s sheriff’s race, according to the victims.
The victims were Shirley and Neffi Montoya, of Chili, whose mobile home was broken into and a brand new cordless phone and an electric clock were stolen, according to deputy J.B. Turner said.
Neffi Montoya claims Turner didn’t take photographs of the scene or lift evidence, telling him the day shift takes care of those duties. When Neffi Montoya complained, Turner blamed the Department’s short-staffing, then allegedly made his endorsement:
“He said there were a shortage of deputies or they were understaffed or whatever,” Neffi Montoya said. “And he said that there was an election coming up, for us to vote for (deputy and Sheriff Candidate James) Lujan, and maybe they’d get some more help if it was him.”
Turner is rumored to be among Lujan’s choices for undersheriff. Turner did not return a call seeking comment on the matter Tuesday. Lujan said he had no knowledge of the alleged incident.
“Oh God, I have no idea,” Lujan said. “I wasn’t there so I don’t know. I don’t know if he did that or not. I don’t know anything about it.”
Sheriff Joe Mascareñas said deputies are permitted to campaign on their own time but not while they’re on shift. He was disconnected prior to answering questions about his specific case and did not return later calls.
Neffi Montoya was mostly upset because he felt Turner was shirking his investigative duties in favor of politicking.
“What I felt was he should have been more interested in what had taken place as far as the break-in was concerned,” he said. “If he wanted to talk about (the sheriff’s race), that’s a different story.”
Shirley Montoya said she was certain the same suspects from an earlier burglary at her home had returned, but Turner said last week it didn’t appear like a personal attack to him. Shirley Montoya and her husband came home around 5:30 p.m. and noticed the break in, although the front door lock was carefully jimmied and nothing was damaged.
“It just didn’t jive,” Turner said last week. “If it was somebody doing it out of spite, they would have trashed it.”
Shirley Montoya had suspected the first burglary was related to an attack that occurred at the business of her son, Ryan Barrera. Barrera is a co-owner of the Dragon’s Lair Hookah Lounge and Defiant Artists Tattoo Parlor, which Española Police officer Eugene Rodella, 40, and his brother Gabriel Rodella, 22, allegedly terrorized Oct. 7.
When the Montoyas were burglarized Oct. 23, deputy Paul Valdez said the way the home was ransacked made it appear more like a personal attack than a burglary.
No evidence has linked the Rodellas to either burglary, but the Sheriff’s department expects to have results on fingerprints lifted from the windows after the first incident, Det. Adam Archuleta said. No arrests have been made in any of the three cases.