What began as a welfare check on two people passed out in a Jeep at the Fairview Sonic on Jan. 20, ended in a police pursuit, a foot chase, a burnt vehicle and the man and woman being arrested.
Española City Police Officer Andrew O’Hara responded to the call at Sonic regarding a man and woman passed out in a gold Jeep, he wrote in his statement of probable cause for Fernando Espinoza’s arrest. He and Officer J. Chavez arrived on scene and found the Jeep parked in a stall. O’Hara parked his patrol vehicle behind the Jeep and turned on the emergency lights. He approached the driver side and saw a man, later identified as Espinoza, in the driver’s seat and a woman, later identified as Tarin Chereposy, 21, in the passenger seat. There was burnt foil and a round, blue pill on the foil in the center console between them, O’Hara wrote in a criminal complaint against Espinoza.
O’Hara knocked on the driver-side window and Espinoza picked up his head and looked at him. He then began to turn the key in the ignition. The officer thought he was going to roll down the window but he instead started the Jeep while Chereposy grabbed the foil from the console, despite being told to leave it there and roll down the window, O’Hara wrote.
“The male placed the vehicle in drive, moved forward slightly; when myself and Officer J Chavez stepped back,” he wrote. “The male then placed the vehicle in reverse and accelerated in reverse, making contact with my patrol unit and pushing it between 30-50 feet. The male pushed my unit and then accelerated forward around the building and nearly struck a school bus while exiting the parking lot.”
Espinoza turned north onto Riverside Drive and sped away. O’Hara called Española dispatch to tell them what happened, then he and several other Española police units gave chase and tried to stop the Jeep. Espinoza traveled roughly 90-95 mph, trying to get away, O’Hara wrote. He ran red lights through Española and at the intersection in Ohkay Owingeh and kept going until he reached mile marker 11. He then turned and went off road.
“The jeep drove through the brush for roughly two miles before getting stuck trying to climb the mountain side,” O’Hara wrote.
That didn’t stop Espinoza or Chereposy, though. They jumped out of the Jeep and ran east, through the mountains. O’Hara continued to chase them when he saw Chereposy slow down and sit on the ground.
“I observed the male to be holding a black object that appeared to be a handgun but could not confirm due to distance,” O’Hara wrote.
He approached Chereposy and told her to keep her hands up, as Espinoza continued running south. He handcuffed the woman and identified her. Officer Daniel Aragon assumed custody of Chereposy and put her in the back of a police unit. She told them Espinoza was armed with a black Glock handgun.
“At this point officers observed the Jeep to be smoking and requested the fire department,” O’Hara wrote. “The Jeep was fully engulfed by the time fire personnel arrived on scene.”
After about half an hour of searching, O’Hara and several officers from other agencies finally found Espinoza lying in the brush. O’Hara placed him at gunpoint and told him to show his hands and get on his knees, however, he refused.
“I continued commands until other officers arrived at my location and we were able to successfully place him into hand restraints,” O’Hara wrote.
He was identified and told he was being arrested. Espinoza was searched and put into the back of O’Hara’s patrol vehicle. However, the gun was not found and Espinoza denied having one. Other officers searched for the gun but were not able to find it. Because the Jeep was completely burnt, they were not able to take any evidence from it.
Espinoza and Chereposy were taken for medical clearances to the Española Hospital.
“My patrol unit was deemed inoperable and taken to the City Fleet,” O’Hara wrote. “Damages sustained to my unit from the jeep are as follows: push guard bent form the mount brackets, siren speaker is broken and fender is scratched.”
The Jeep was left where it burned because tow truck services said they couldn’t retrieve it because of the terrain.
Espinoza has been charged with aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer, criminal damage to property, resisting, evading or obstructing an officer (two counts); receipt, transportation or possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon; attempt to commit a felony, to wit: tampering with evidence; leaving the scene of an accident and aggravated assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon (two counts).
According to the statement of probable cause, Chereposy was charged with resisting arrest and fleeing a law enforcement officer.