Man out on bond for DWI leads police on chase
Hours after appearing in court to have an ankle monitor removed, a Las Vegas man was arrested for felony aggravated fleeing of law enforcement following a high-speed chase.
According to Las Vegas Police, around 8 a.m. Dec. 12, an officer’s radar recorded 24-year-old Jeffrey C. Fernandez driving 98 mph on I-25 near exit 345 in Las Vegas. When the officer initiated a traffic stop, Fernandez pulled into a gas station on the corner of North Grand and University Ave. Fernandez then “sped off,” traveling north on Grand, according to a police report.
LVPD followed Fernandez as he returned to northbound I-25, but LVPD turned the chase over to New Mexico State Police once Fernandez traveled outside the city limits of Las Vegas. LVPD continued to assist in the chase as a secondary unit.
According to police, when Fernandez reached exit 386 near Wagon Mound, he slowed to about 20 mph in order to exit I-25. In an attempt to stop Fernandez, NMSP performed a Pursuit Intervention Technique. The PIT maneuver didn’t initially work, but Fernandez did come to a stop soon after exiting the interstate.
Fernandez was arrested and transported back to Las Vegas where he was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center. Police also located marijuana during a search of his vehicle.
According to traffic citations and a criminal complaint filed in San Miguel Magistrate Court, marijuana was located “in two plastic bags” and Fernandez was charged with possession of an ounce or less of marijuana.
Hours after the arrest, charges against Fernandez were dismissed because an LVPD officer failed to sign the criminal complaint. The error was corrected and charges were refiled, but the dismissal resulted in Fernandez being released from SMCDC.
Fernandez was previously convicted for DWI in 2015, and in September of 2018, he was arrested for aggravated DWI. That case is still pending.
According to court records, LVPD pulled Fernandez over on Sept. 11 for driving “at a high rate of speed.” Police stopped the car, but Fernandez fled the scene on foot.
Inside the vehicle, officers located an open bottle of alcohol and a pipe used for smoking methamphetamine. Officers later located Fernandez in a residence, hiding under a bed. A marijuana joint was also found under the bed where he’d been hiding. Fernandez was arrested after failing sobriety tests.
Fernandez was released from jail on Sept. 20 after posting 10 percent of a $3,000 bond, and was ordered to wear an ankle monitor.
Fernandez appeared in court the afternoon of Dec. 11 for a hearing related to the September arrest, and a judge allowed Fernandez to remove the ankle monitor, according to records filed in San Miguel County Magistrate Court.
Following the December police chase, Fernandez was charged with felony aggravated fleeing of law enforcement, possession of marijuana and several traffic violations.
Fernandez is scheduled to appear in Magistrate Court 10 a.m. Thursday for arraignment in his most recent arrest. He is also due in Magistrate Court Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. for another hearing in the September aggravated DWI case.
