A woman who was allegedly battered by the Truchas postmaster had to be taken to Española Hospital Jan. 30, according to the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Department.
A crowd assembled outside the Truchas post office Jan. 30 when postmaster Ardy Sanchez, 37, allegedly attacked Sandra Martinez, injuring her leg, hitting her in the face and breaking her glasses, according to 911 dispatch logs. Someone at the post office called 911 shortly after noon that day to report Martinez had come to pick up her mail, was “refusing to leave and has drawn a crowd of people,” dispatch logs state.
“The ladies have an ongoing problem,” deputy Raymond Romero said. “They had an exchange of words, went outside and started fighting with each other.”
Both received minor injuries, “scratches and bruises,” although only Martinez was transported for medical care, Romero said.
The pair had separated by the time Romero arrived, and Martinez was already on her way to the hospital, Romero said. Meanwhile, Sanchez was “inside an office with the door locked,” Romero said. Dispatch logs described her as being “uncooperative for some reason.”
“She didn’t want to open the door because there were people that were angry wanting to get into the post office,” Romero explained.
When Martinez called 911 the next day to follow up on the incident, she told 911 dispatchers that she had reported Sanchez to the U.S. Postal Service for “tampering with the mail.” Romero said he believed the postal inspector had been notified in connection with the Jan. 30 incident, but did not have details.
Amanda McMurray, a postal inspector based in Fort Worth, Texas, said Monday that the postal service would not be able to confirm or comment on an investigation into the incident.
“We take any situaton of work-place violence or violence related to the postal service seriously,” McMurray said. “Typically in these cases it’s referred to a police department at the end of our investigation, or we work the case closely with the local police department.”
Neither Martinez nor Sanchez was charged by the Sheriff’s department. Romero said because any battery that occurred was at a misdemeanor level, and it was not observed by a deputy, the parties would need to file charges themselves in Rio Arriba County Magistrate Court.
Martinez filed for a restraining order against Sanchez Feb. 2 in state District Court, according to an online court records database.
McMurray said there is no federal statute under which a federal employee could be prosecuted for assaulting a customer. However, there is a federal statute prohibiting a customer from “impeding a federal employee through assault,” McMurray said.
Reached by phone at the post office Feb. 6, Sanchez declined to comment for this story. Martinez could not be reached for comment.