Man escapes police custody after drug trafficking arrest
Two men were arrested at Storrie Lake State Park over the Fourth of July weekend and charged with trafficking controlled substances, but one man escaped from police custody.
Harold Anderson, 58, of Roy, and Steven Gutierrez, 31, of Las Vegas, were taken into custody by New Mexico State Police on July 7. Both face charges of felony possession with intent to distribute narcotics.
According to a police report, an NMSP officer was called to Storrie Lake around 10 p.m. on July 7 to perform a welfare check on several men inside a vehicle who were not responding to a park ranger.
Police say Gutierrez was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, while Anderson was in the passenger seat. The officer saw two syringes on Gutierrez’s lap, which Gutierrez said belonged to a man inside an attached trailer. Gutierrez said the man used them for insulin.
The officer asked the men to exit the vehicle, and asked two men inside the trailer to exit as well. After checking the men’s names in a law enforcement database, the officer released them. However, as they were getting back into the vehicle, police say Gutierrez dropped a small plastic bag and a pill bottle, and attempted to hide the items. According to the police report, the officer also located a second plastic bag with “small tinfoil-wrapped balls” inside.
According to an arrest affidavit filled in San Miguel Magistrate Court, Gutierrez told police the tinfoil balls contained cocaine, and that the pill bottle contained heroin and pills. Gutierrez also told police that one of the plastic bags contained Suboxone, a prescription opioid.
Police arrested Anderson and Gutierrez and transported them to the San Miguel County Detention Center; however, jail staff refused to book either man until they received medical clearance. The officer then transported both men to Alta Vista Regional Hospital.
At the hospital, an officer granted a request by Gutierrez to use a bathroom, but according to the affidavit, Gutierrez attempted to escape through the bathroom’s ceiling. The officer put handcuffs on Gutierrez and placed him in a triage room while he inspected the damage in the bathroom. Inside, the officer discovered ceiling tiles removed and metal bars hanging from the ceiling. Hospital staff then informed the officer that Gutierrez had run out the front door.
A warrant has been issued for Gutierrez, but as of this writing, police had not arrested him.
NMSP spokesman Lieutenant Mark Soriano told the Optic no hospital staff were injured during the incident.
Soriano did not provide further details of the incident, only saying, “New Mexico State Police is committed to learning all the facts of the escape.”
After receiving a medical clearance, Anderson was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center, and released hours later on an unsecured bond. Anderson was charged with a third-degree felony for attempting to commit a felony (trafficking by possession with intent to distribute). He was also charged with misdemeanor attempt to commit a felony (possession of a controlled substance) and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.
Gutierrez was charged with fourth-degree felony escape from a peace officer, first-degree felony trafficking of a controlled substance (possession with intent to distribute), felony possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor criminal damage to property.
Gutierrez — also identified in some court documents as Estevan Gutierrez — is currently awaiting trial in a felony possession of a controlled substance case from Jan. 30.
Soriano asked that anyone with information about Gutierrez’s whereabouts call NMSP at 505-425-6771, option 1.
Anderson does not appear to have any prior criminal history in New Mexico. He is due in San Miguel Magistrate Court at 9 a.m. on Aug. 13 for an arraignment.
