Police: Mora County man intentionally crashed into vehicle
New Mexico State Police arrested a Mora County man after he crashed his truck into another vehicle, an act police believe was intentional.
Just after 1 a.m. on March 29, NMSP responded to a call near Gonzales Ranch, in rural San Miguel County, after a caller reported a brown truck had hit their vehicle and left the scene.
According to a criminal complaint filed in San Miguel Magistrate Court, police located a brown pickup truck along County Road B31A that matched the description given by the caller. The vehicle was parked on the side of the road, and the truck’s front end was damaged. Arthur Martinez, 34, of Buena Vista, was inside the vehicle. Martinez was arrested and later booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center on several charges, including two felonies.
Martinez told police the truck was damaged because he’d crashed into a gate. When police asked what gate he’d hit, he told an officer he’d hit a fence. According to police, Martinez then said “there was no point in lying” and admitted to crashing into the other vehicle because someone had upset him.
According to the criminal complaint, after being placed in a patrol car, Martinez asked an officer to retrieve his cellphone from the center console of the truck. When the officer opened the console to look for the phone, he located drug paraphernalia, including a small torch, a small scale and a bent spoon coated with drug residue. The officer asked Martinez what else was in the truck, and he told police heroin and “possibly” methamphetamine.
Martinez was charged with criminal damage to property over $1,000, and possession of a controlled substance, both fourth-degree felonies. He was also charged with use or possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving with a suspended license, both misdemeanors.
Martinez has a lengthy criminal history in New Mexico dating back to 2005, including multiple felony convictions, and has twice been sentenced under New Mexico’s habitual offender statute.
In 2006, 2007 and 2011, he pleaded guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance. In 2013 and 2017, Martinez was convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon. He also has multiple misdemeanor convections for driving with a suspended license and for not having insurance.
For this latest case, Martinez was released from SMCDC on March 30, after posting a bond. He is scheduled to appear in San Miguel Magistrate Court on May 2.
