A Hernandez man implicated in his colleague’s death while driving a trash truck, who then filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the North Central Solid Waste Trash Authority, was charged with stealing a man’s truck in Española before he was arrested in Santa Fe.
Paul Martinez, of Española, reported his Chevrolet Silverado stolen around 7 a.m. July 24. He said when contacted by phone, that he was getting ready to leave for work, when he noticed some men in the neighbor’s yard had arrived early to begin cleaning it. One of the men, later identified as Peter Velarde, 39, was with the group, however they later told Martinez they didn’t know who he was. He had asked them for a cigarette.
Martinez got out of the truck to lock his gate and when he turned around, Velarde jumped in the truck and was speeding off. Martinez ran after the truck and jumped in the back, but fell out and onto the ground as the truck sped away.
He said he could hear the truck accelerate and was traveling down the Santa Clara Bridge toward Dandy’s Burgers. Martinez and his wife got into her car and attempted to follow the truck, but were unable to find it. However, Martinez’s sister was able to make contact with Velarde by calling her brother’s phone, which he answered. She then fooled Velarde into picking her up for a fake date.
While Valdez was arranging to meet Velarde, a BOLO alert was issued for the black Silverado. New Mexico State Police officers tried to stop the truck after it was involved in a hit-and-run, but the driver fled the scene. State Police have not filed charges for the hit-and-run.
Valdez contacted dispatchers and told them to tell officers that she was with the man who stole her brother’s truck at the Motel 6 in Santa Fe. She said the man was Velarde. Officers couldn’t find her or Velarde, but they did find Martinez, who was also looking for his sister and his truck, Santa Fe Police Officer Matthew Humphrey wrote.
Humphrey charged Velarde with unlawful taking of a vehicle, receiving stolen property and two counts of resisting arrest, once he found the man.
Humphrey wrote that he was initially sent to deal with a stolen vehicle charge at 10:30 a.m.
Martinez then called Humphrey a little later and said his sister and Velarde were at the 2nd Street Brewery. Humphrey and two other officers headed to the area to find them and were flagged down in the corner of the parking lot. They found Velarde and he tried to escape by running up a steep, rocky barrier, but officers stopped him, Humphrey wrote.
Martinez told Humphrey they tracked his truck to the Motel 6 off Cerrillos Road by tracking his work cellphone, which was in the truck, along with his folding knife, ID and keys, Humphrey wrote.
“Paul advised that when he reported his vehicle stolen in Española this morning, he had noticed a Hispanic male with a neck tattoo acting suspicious while he was working on his neighbor’s front lawn,” Humphrey wrote. “Paul advised that shortly after his truck was missing. It should be noted that Peter does have a neck tattoo.”
Humphrey called the Española Police Department, which confirmed they took Martinez’s report, but there was no video surveillance from the theft.
Valdez told Humphrey that she called her brother’s cellphone, hoping that Velarde would answer, and he did.
“Dorrine advised that she told the suspect ‘Hey you said you were going to take me on a date,’” Humphrey wrote. “Dorrine advised that Peter gave her his address. Dorrine advised that she met Peter near the Motel 6 and did not see the truck.”
When officers searched Velarde, they found two phones, Martinez’s work identification, his knife and his keys in Velarde’s bag. His truck was located in a nearby Taco Bell parking lot.
Officers read Velarde his Miranda rights and he allegedly told them that he “had borrowed his ‘homie’s’ truck and did not know if it was stolen,” Humphrey wrote.
He said the knife was given to him by a friend but “was unable to provide any reason for why the stolen items were in his possession,” Humphrey wrote.
When being arrested, he allegedly kicked the police car, “began to act aggressive and combative” and was taken to a holding cell by two officers. Once side, he started yelling and kicking, interfering with an interview being done in another room.
He was released on his personal recognizance the following day and ordered to report to pre-trial services. A preliminary examination is set for Sept. 2.
Whistleblower Lawsuit
In a whistleblower lawsuit filed in 2023, Velarde alleged that he was fired for cooperating with federal investigators.
He was working a route on the trash truck with Alfred Trujillo, 47, of Cordova, on Nov. 22, 2022.
Trujillo died at The University of New Mexico Hospital after his leg was run over by a vehicle while working his trash route in Dixon, although who ran over him is unknown.
Velarde’s attorney, Sheri Raphaelson, wrote in the lawsuit complaint that what happened to Trujillo should have been recorded by a camera on the back of the trash truck but, like many other things on the truck, it was broken.
Velarde was the truck driver and, according to his lawsuit filed by Raphaelson, Trujillo banged on the side of the truck, indicating for Velarde to drive to the next site, but Velarde could not see him, just the empty trash bins. As he drove up the hill, he saw at least one vehicle pass him going down the hill. When he stopped at the top of the hill, he did not see Trujillo, she wrote.
Velarde got out and looked for Trujillo, then backed up the truck and saw something in the road. It was Trujillo. Velarde put a tourniquet on his leg and tried to call 911, but had no phone reception. He asked a man standing nearby to call for help and once the ambulance arrived, he started taking photos and video of medics working, she wrote.
The lawsuit survived a motion to dismiss filed in 2024 and his currently headed to trial in May 2026. A handful of depositions took place last year.
Velarde was charged following the incident with tampering with evidence, after he allegedly deleted videos from his phone of the incident, and then that case was dismissed.
The federal occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, fined the Authority $18,462, following Trujillo’s death.
The Administration’s investigation could not conclude if Velarde ran over Trujillo when backing up or if another car ran over him. The case was closed on May 16, 2023, according to documents provided by the Administration.
Managing Editor Jennifer Garcia contributed to this report.