An Española police officer issued a summons on charges of battery on an officer, indecent exposure and other charges for a man who was found pantsless in a yard off of Fairview Lane, then had to be sedated at the Española Hospital emergency room.
Officer Andrew O’Hara issued the summons to Jacob Velarde, 36, of Medanales, on Nov. 4, following the attempt at an arrest on Oct. 30.
O’Hara wrote in a criminal complaint that he was sent to 606 N. Monterey Lane for a man, “outside naked rolling around.”
At the scene, he found Velarde lying on the ground “with his buttocks out of his pants.” When Velarde stood up, he told O’Hara that “his pants were never down and he was okay,” O’Hara wrote.
O’Hara told Velarde to leave the property, then went and talked to the person who called it in and wanted to be anonymous. The anonymous person told O’Hara that he had video of Velarde “with his genitals out and the kids were outside playing.”
O’Hara went out to look for Velarde again and found him in the yard of 703 Fairview Lane and the homeowner, Daniel Garduño, told O’Hara that Velarde wasn’t “permitted” to be on the property. He noted visible “no trespassing” signs on the property. O’Hara then handcuffed Velarde, who allegedly tensed his arms and tried to pull away. As he placed Velarde in a patrol car, Velarde allegedly spit on him repeatedly and told him “he was going to have my job,” O’Hara wrote.
The person who originally called in the incident with Velarde told O’Hara that he didn’t want to be identified because he didn’t want any problems, the officer wrote.
Another officer took Velarde to the Española Hospital. There, Velarde “was continuing to act irate with the nurses and removed all his clothing.”
Emergency room staff sedated him, resulting in O’Hara issuing the summons, because Velarde wasn’t medically cleared to go to jail.
In addition to battery on an officer and indecent exposure, O’Hara also charged Velarde with resisting arrest, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.
When the summons was entered into the court system on Nov. 4, Velarde also had a first appearance where he was released on his own recognizance. A status conference is set for Nov. 26.
Velarde has a series of pending magistrate court cases and one district court case for possession of a controlled substance, set for a plea hearing on Nov. 24.
Prosecutor Edna Frances Sprague filed a motion on Nov. 4 to have Velarde held without bail for violating the conditions of his pre-trial release, based on the criminal summons brought by O’Hara.
“This is the 10th case filed in Magistrate Court in 2025,” Sprague wrote. “While some of those cases have been dismissed for lack of law enforcement prosecution, this Defendant still poses a threat to the community at large as well as law enforcement.”
No hearing has been set on Sprague’s motion.
According to court records, Velarde appears to be in jail, but when, exactly, he was arrested is unclear.
According to a review of online court records, five of the 10 misdemeanor cases filed this year were dismissed because officers didn’t show up to the bench trials, both in Española and Santa Fe. In three of those cases, Española Police Officer James Quintana didn’t show up and Officer Lucas Sanchez didn’t show up twice.
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Quintana, on April 25, charged Velarde with disorderly conduct, assault on an officer and resisting arrest after he was sent to La Joya Street for a man jumping up and down in the road. Velarde became angry that he wasn’t free to leave but Quintana, who hadn’t charged him with anything, told him to sit back on the ground and when he didn’t, Quintana handcuffed and arrested him. Once in the unit, Velarde allegedly began banging his head on the cage in the car. At the hospital, Velarde “became aggressive” and had to be handcuffed to a seat before he was taken to jail. Quintana never showed up to the bench trial and Santa Fe Magistrate Judge Melissa Mascareñas dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning charges could be brought again.
Sanchez charged Velarde on May 23 with criminal trespass, battery and criminal damage to property, after he was sent to Allsups to disperse him. He ran his information and found he was trespassed and tried to arrest him. A man told officers at the scene that Velarde punched him in the face and broke his car’s windshield. Sanchez didn’t show up to the bench trial and Mascareñas dismissed the case without prejudice.
Sanchez charged Velarde on June 2 with criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and two counts of resisting arrest after Velarde allegedly was standing in the Walgreens parking lot, shadow boxing. When he ran Velarde’s information, he found he had been trespassed from Walgreens and arrested him. On the way to the hospital, Velarde started kicking the car windows. At the Española Hospital, staff sedated Velarde and didn’t clear him for incarceration. Sanchez again didn’t show up for a bench trial and Rio Arriba Magistrate Judge Joseph Madrid dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning charges can’t be brought again.
Quintana charged Velarde on July 15 with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct because he allegedly acted irate at Walmart and was trying to steal clothes. Madrid dismissed the case with prejudice because Quintana didn’t appear at the bench trial on July 31.
Quintana charged Velarde on June 29 with shoplifting and criminal trespass for allegedly taking things from Lowe’s Home Improvement, including two microfiber towels and two cans of degreaser. In that case, Velarde was held without bail for some time after allegedly violating the conditions of his release. Quintana again failed to appear for the bench trial, the third case with Velarde in 2025, and Madrid dismissed the case with prejudice.