A brush fire that began Sunday scorched 13 acres of bosque along the Rio Chama and adjacent fields between Tierra Azul and Medanales, Abiquiú Volunteer Fire Department Chief Paulette Jordan said.
The fire was still smoldering Tuesday, Jordan said.
Firefighters from the El Rito, Agua Sana, Velarde, Coyote, Chamita and La Mesilla fire departments arrived Sunday to help fight the blaze, Jordan said.
The fire started on private property in Tierra Azul on the west side of the Rio Chama before engulfing cottonwoods and jumping the river to Medanales, Jordan said.
“We had winds of 20 to 25 miles per hour, and it was hot and dry,” Jordan said.
Eleven acres in Tierra Azul and approximately two acres in Medanales were burned, Jordan said.
Jordan stayed overnight to monitor the fire. No structures or vehicles burned and there were no injuries, Jordan said.
“We got the hotspots out but we’re still monitoring one or two (spots),” Jordan said Tuesday. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it may have been caused when a Tierra Azul resident threw hot ashes from a fireplace into a back yard, state Forestry Department spokesman Dan Ware said Tuesday. Ware could not provide the name of the person suspected of starting the fir.
Once the individual’s identity is confirmed, Forestry Department officials will decide whether or not to cite that individual for the fire, Ware said.
SUN Staff Report
A Mexican immigrant who had been residing in Española is in jail on 312 counts of rape and 312 counts of criminal sexual contact for allegedly molesting his 10-year-old stepdaughter, according to State Police.
State Children, Youth and Families Department was contacted by a Sombrillo Elementary counselor March 20 after the child disclosed that her mother’s husband, Tomas Rodriguez-Garcia, 27, was sexually abusing her, court documents state. The victim told investigators that Rodriguez-Garcia had been touching her sexually for two years, but the abuse had been getting worse in the previous few weeks.
The victim and her 6-year-old brother slept on a bed in the same room with their mother and Rodriguez-Garcia, documents state. State Police Sgt. Chris Valdez said the victim said she and her brother slept in the same room with them because they were afraid of Rodriguez-Garcia’s 29-year-old brother, who also lived at the residence.
Rodriguez-Garcia allegedly molested and raped the victim at night when she was sleeping or early in the morning, when the victim’s mother wasn’t in the room.
Rodriguez-Garcia had admitted to the victim’s mother that he sexually abused the victim for two years, and the mother told him not to touch the victim again, Valdez said. The victim’s mother cooperated with the police investigation, advising police where Rodriguez-Garcia could be found the evening of March 20.
Rodriguez-Garcia was arrested without incident and was being held at Rio Arriba County Jail on $500,000 cash-only, documents state.
SUN Staff Report
A Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputy’s son was stabbed March 21 during a fight over “something stupid.”
Richard Lujan, 20, was holding his left wrist and bleeding profusely when officers were dispatched to his Española home around 3:30 a.m., according to a police report. Lujan had suffered one stab wound that went from his wrist to his elbow described as a deep laceration 5 to 6 inches long that cut to the bone.
Lujan told Española Police he got in a fight with Larry Archuleta, 22, of Hernandez. As Lujan was being transported to Española Hospital for treatment, officers heard someone walking in the bushes on Angel Duran Drive outside Lujan’s home and located Felix Valdez.
Valdez was a witness to the incident, albeit an intoxicated one, the report states.
Valdez told police Archuleta and Lujan were both his friends, and Archuleta stabbed Lujan because they were fighting over “something stupid.”
Det. Bryan Martinez said Archuleta turned himself in Sunday. His version of the incident corresponded with Valdez’s and Lujan’s, Martinez said.
“Richard was trying to calm Larry down over a girl,” Martinez said. “It all boils down to the three guys that were there were so intoxicated. That’s pretty much what all of them said.”
A 3-and-a-half or 4-inch Gerber folding knife allegedly used to stab Lujan was taken into evidence, Martinez said. Lujan was taken by ambulance from Española Hospital to the University of New Mexico Hospital the night of March 21 for treatment, Martinez said.
Archuleta was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and was transported Monday to McKinley County Jail, according to Martinez and Española Jail staff.
Lujan, the son of deputy James Lujan, was out of the hospital by Monday.
SUN Staff Report
Two men were charged with assault and battery Sunday after an unexplained attack on an Española man, according to Española Police.
Johnny Valdez, 49, was leaving his Calle Don Pedro residence that afternoon when Crystal Gallegos approached his car. Officer Gabe Gonzales said he didn’t know what the two spoke about, but Gallegos’ brother Jerome Gallegos, 40, approached and began arguing with Valdez.
“(Jerome Gallegos) pulled out a knife and lunged at (Valdez) while he was in the car,” Gonzales said. “He struck him in the upper left chest.”
Gonzales said the argument was possibly about a phone.
“This guy was arguing with her or something so (Jerome Gallegos) went to her aid,” Gonzales said. “(Jerome Gallegos) is an ex-con — their mentality is different.”
Jerome Gallegos spent time in prison after pleading guilty to trafficking a controlled substance in 1995, according to an online court records database.
While Jerome Gallegos and Valdez were arguing, Crystal Gallegos’ boyfriend Joe Gallegos, 29, apparently also came to Jerome Gallegos’ aid after his girlfriend yelled for him, Gonzales said. Joe Gallegos came running with a large stick, possibly a broomstick, and twice tried to hit Valdez and Valdez’s brother, Larry Valdez, who had attempted to intervene in the fight, Gonzales said. Although witnesses originally told 911 dispatchers Joe Gallegos was wielding a golf club, Gonzales said a golf club was never found.
Gonzales said a small pocket knife believed to be the weapon Jerome Gallegos had used was found at a trailer where he lives with Crystal and Joe Gallegos. Johnny Valdez, the only person involved in the incident who appeared to be intoxicated, was treated at Española Hospital for his wound, Gonzales said.
Jerome Gallegos was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Gonzales said. Joe Gallegos was charged with two counts of assault, Gonzales said.