A Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s lieutenant is disputing a claim made by another officer that he warned a wanted man he was going to be arrested on an outstanding warrant.
Sheriff’s Det. Adam Archuleta had told 911 dispatchers July 6 Julian Rendon was packed and ready to go to jail when deputies arrived to arrest him during a warrant sweep. Archuleta also told dispatchers that Rendon claimed Sheriff’s Lt. Manuel Valdez had told him in advance deputies would be arresting him.
Valdez said he never warned Rendon about the warrant.
“I’ve been serving warrants for 28 years,” Valdez said. “I started doing these when Adam was still in diapers and sucking on a bottle, so I just don’t appreciate these insinuations.”
Valdez said he was working on a different team from Archuleta and deputy Raymond Romero that day and was serving warrants at the same time. He said he didn’t know the names of all the people being picked up. Archuleta agrees that Valdez was serving warrants that day, but said he would have heard Rendon’s name over the deputies’ radios.
Two of Rendon’s relatives sent in letters to the editor claiming deputies first arrived at one house looking for him, then left to find him in another location. In the meantime they called Rendon to let him know.
Archuleta said it’s true Rendon wasn’t at the first house they searched, but he called dispatch at that point to have Española Police officers immediately go to Cook’s Mobile Home Park before Rendon could flee. He said it’s possible the family also called and warned him, but doubtful they had time before officers arrived — and that’s not what Rendon had told him.
“He specifically told us that Manuel called, not that his family called,” Archuleta said. “I don’t have anything negative to say about (Valdez) except his officer safety skills are out the window.”
Valdez admitted to knowing Rendon but refused to say how he knows him. One of the letters to the editor from Rendon’s brother states that Valdez is the fiance of his stepmother.
“Just because I know him doesn’t mean I call him up,” Valdez said. “I’ve had relatives in trouble before but I didn’t call them up.”
Julian Rendon did not return a call for comment.