A man who told security guards and officers at Walmart that he was going to do “whatever it takes to go to jail,” was subsequently charged with bringing suspected amphetamine to the Tierra Amarilla Detention Center.
Española City Police Officer Andrew O’Hara initially charged Fernando Espinoza, 40, on Jan. 12, with possession of a controlled substance, drug paraphernalia, assault, battery, resisting arrest and criminal trespass for the incident at Walmart. Court records list Espinoza’s addresses as being either in Chimayó or Coyote.
Two days later, on Jan. 14, while at the Tierra Amarilla Detention Center, following his first arrest, Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Deputy Hansel Felix charged him with bringing contraband into a jail and possession of a controlled substance.
The next month, on Feb. 8, O’Hara arrested Espinoza again, this time after someone reported a man rolling around on the ground at Wendy’s.
Contraband
Felix wrote in a criminal complaint that RACDC guard Frankie Meza called dispatch after finding possible drugs on Espinoza and that Espinoza wasn’t subjected to a fully body scan when he was arrested on Jan. 12.
“Meza stated after becoming aware of that he notified his direct supervisor and conducted a search of Espinoza,” Felix wrote. “Meza started when removing the socks of Espinoza he discovered a white powdery substance wrapped in plastic.”
When he conducted the body scan, it showed a “possible foreign object” inside his body, something Espinoza denied. Felix then drew up the charges against Espinoza, he wrote.
‘Business to do’
O’Hara wrote in a criminal complaint for Espinoza’s arrest that he was dispatched Jan. 12 to Walmart for a report of a man trespassed from the property who was fighting with security.
When he arrived on scene, he saw Espinoza lying on the floor inside the business, surrounded by security staff. He did not write where in the big box store Espinoza was.
“Security advised that the male acknowledged his revocation for permission to be on the property, and told security that he was going to do whatever it takes to go to jail,” O’Hara wrote.
He did not name the security officer.
The unnamed security officer told O’Hara they then “approached him to remove him from the property and he ‘charged security’ and threatened to fight him,” O’Hara wrote.
The security guard alleged Espinoza then tried to tackle him, he wrote.
When O’Hara talked to Espinoza, the man allegedly told him “he needs to go to jail.”
When O’Hara had dispatchers run Espinoza’s name through the system, they found there was an active warrant in Española Municipal Court. O’Hara tried to handcuff him but he allegedly “was refusing to comply and tensing up his arms,” O’Hara wrote.
Espinoza allegedly told O’Hara he “has business to do” and a second time that he needed to go to jail. When O’Hara searched him, he found a tooter, commonly used for smoking drugs, and a white powdery substance, alleged to be cocaine. How much, and what it was in, is unlisted.
A preliminary hearing was set for Feb. 19 in both the Walmart and the jail cases.
Wendy’s
When Officer Andrew O’Hara arrived on Feb. 8, he saw a Cadillac truck parked in the lot, which matched the description he was given by whomever called 911. He activated his patrol vehicle’s emergency equipment and pulled behind the truck, his criminal complaint against Espinoza said. As he pulled behind the truck, a man, later identified as Espinoza, exited and began to walk away.
O’Hara told Espinoza to come back because he was conducting an investigation, the complaint said. Espinoza returned but was acting strange and fidgety. He asked the man for his name and date of birth. O’Hara also ran the truck’s license plate through dispatch and learned it was registered to Lupe Salazar, whom Espinoza said is his mother.
Espinoza was handcuffed and terry-frisked, then read the Miranda Warning. O’Hara asked what he was doing in a vehicle that wasn’t registered to him.
“Fernando advised it is his mother’s truck and she gave him permission,” O’Hara wrote. “Fernando stated his mother drove the vehicle and walked to Taco Bell. Fernando provided a phone number for Lupe, who advised she was at home and gave Fernando the truck ‘a while’ ago to fix it. I placed Fernando in the rear passenger seat of my marked patrol unit.”
O’Hara noticed a woman in the passenger seat of the truck and told her to get out. The woman, later identified as Dolores Meza, 45, told the officer that Espinoza parked there and asked her if she wanted a ride, to which she responded “yes,” the complaint said. Her name and birthdate was also run through dispatch and O’Hara learned she had an active arrest warrant through Rio Arriba County Magistrate Court. She was handcuffed and searched.
When Espinoza’s information was run through dispatch, it was revealed that he had a revoked license, the complaint said. O’Hara told him he was being arrested for driving on a revoked license. When he was searched, a wrapped foil with white powder was found in his right, front pants pocket, the complaint said. It was field tested and came back positive for cocaine. O’Hara also found a tooter on Espinoza.
Salazar was contacted and sent Espinoza’s sister to retrieve the Cadillac, the complaint said. Meza and Espinoza were arrested and an ambulance was called to check on Espinoza because of how he was acting; in and out of consciousness and fidgety.
Espinoza and Meza were transported to the Española Hospital for medical clearances before being booked into jail.
Managing Editor Jennifer Garcia contributed to this report.