SUN Staff Report
7/16/09
A man arrested in a pre-Española Fiesta warrant sweep told officers that a Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s lieutenant tipped him off that he was going to be arrested.
Julian Rendon, 36, was being picked up the morning of July 6 on a warrant out of Española Municipal Court for driving under the influence, Sheriff’s Det. Adam Archuleta said. When Archuleta and Española Police officers also working the operation arrived at Rendon’s residence at Cook’s Mobile Home Park, Rendon had already packed his clothes and medications in preparation for going to jail, Archuleta said.
“Julian said that (Lt.) Manuel Valdez is his good friend and he told him we were coming for him,” Archuleta said. “He was ready.”
Archuleta called dispatch around 9 a.m., after the arrest, and asked that it be noted in dispatch logs that Manuel Valdez called Rendon to warn him Sheriff’s deputies were looking for him, according to an internal email from 911 dispatcher Veronica Quintana to Española/Rio Arriba County 911 Center Director Marti Griego, .
“I was very upset about the whole deal,” Archuleta said Tuesday. “There’s a big officer safety issue there,”
Valdez’s boss, Sheriff Joe Mascareñas, said Tuesday he had to look into the incident further to determine whether it was true, but had verified through dispatch logs that Archuleta notified dispatch about it. Mascareñas said such conduct would be against the Department’s policy. Mascareñas and Archuleta said they didn’t believe Valdez and Rendon were related, and were not sure how they knew each other.
Archuleta said he believed Mascareñas questioned Valdez, and Valdez denied making the call.
Valdez did not return a call for comment for this story.