A Coyote man was released on his own recognizance after a Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputy arrested him for allegedly shooting at a family member’s house on Dec. 25, just 20 days after New Mexico State Police officers got a warrant for his arrest for doing the same thing.
Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholas Varela filed the criminal complaint for John Chacon’s arrest on Jan. 23, almost a month after he was called to a Coyote home for allegations that Chacon repeatedly shot at his relative’s car and camper trailer.
Rio Arriba Magistrate Judge Joseph Madrid arraigned Chacon, 27, on Feb. 10 and released him on his own recognizance. However, for unknown reasons, he did not arraign Chacon on charges a State Police officer filed on Dec. 5, 2024, a case where Chacon is still wanted on a warrant that his fellow magistrate judge, Alexandra Naranjo, signed.
His next court date was Feb. 26.
Shooting
In his criminal complaint filed a month after the alleged shooting, Varela wrote that he was dispatched to Coyote on Dec. 25, 2024, after a couple said they came home from a Christmas party to find their camping trailer and vehicle shot up and they suspected it was one of their cousins, Chacon.
Chacon was allegedly upset over a joke he made, “Juan mas, Juan at a time,” and then declared, “You’ll see what happens.”
Repair quotes for the car that was shot declared it a total loss, while damages to the camper trailer were over $6,000, Varela wrote.
Varela charged Chacon with negligent use of a deadly weapon, criminal damage to property over $1,000 and shooting at or from a vehicle.
Based on Varela’s criminal complaint, it did not appear there was any physical evidence linking Chacon to the shooting and the victims did not witness him firing a gun.
Violent behavior
In the case that Madrid did not arraign Chacon on, despite having him in court, State Police Officer James Rempe wrote that he was sent to Coyote on Dec. 4 after a woman said Chacon, her nephew, was yelling, screaming and threatening her and her dad.
Court records list the same address for Chacon, but some mark his town as Gallina and others as Coyote.
She called dispatchers a second time and asked police to hurry (Rempe was driving there from Farmington) because “the suspect went outside her residence and fired one round from a firearm.” Disptachers reported they could hear someone banging on the windows outside the house while she was on the phone with them, Rempe wrote.
The woman told Rempe when he arrived, that at 4:30 that day, she was walking outside when her nephew, who is also her neighbor, walked out and started yelling obscenities at her and “blaming her for talking to people.” She had no idea what he was talking about and he appeared to be drunk, Rempe wrote.
“She told me she tried to ignore him, which made him angry,” Rempe wrote. “He then clenched his fists and screamed and began running at her and yelling I’m going to get you. This scared her so she ran back to her house and shut the door.”
She called the police and he started throwing things before he went back to his house and then stood outside her house, as she could see him through the window, Rempe wrote.
“When she walked away from the window, she heard a gunshot, which sounded like it was next to the house,” Rempe wrote. “This scared her even more and she called 911 a second time.”
Chacon’s grandfather told Rempe the same basics as the woman and said Chacon’s behavior has been getting worse and he harasses them all the time and when he drinks, he gets violent, he wrote.
“They said the suspect talks to himself and then becomes angry,” Rempe wrote. “They advised this is the first time he fired a firearm. They advised he walks around the property with it and sometimes shows them the gun in a threatening manner.”
When Rempe tried to locate Chacon, he walked 30 feet to the east, to the house Chacon shares with his dad. His dad was very drunk and said his son wasn’t home. Rempe noted several rifles and shotguns lying around the house.
The following day, Dec. 5, he filed for an arrest warrant, which Naranjo approved. That arrest warrant is still outstanding.
The charges are negligent use of a deadly weapon, harassment and assault. It is a state-wide warrant.