Driver of stolen car leads police on 15-mile chase

Pasqual R. Valenzuela Jr., 22, appeared in San Miguel Magistrate Court Dec. 27 to face several charges, including auto theft, fleeing law enforcement and possession of a controlled substance, after leading police on a chase in a stolen car, according to an affidavit for arrest filed in San Miguel County Magistrate Court.

Valenzuela was later arrested in Albuquerque for breaking into a home and refusing to come out for police.

Authorities had been looking for Valenzuela since a warrant for his arrest was issued following the police chase on Dec. 15, which began when New Mexico State Police dispatchers received a call around 10 a.m. about a black car with a broken windshield that had crashed near Ilfeld. Officers responding to the call passed a black car with a damaged windshield traveling along a frontage road, and according to police, Valenzuela was the driver of the car.

Officers turned around to follow the vehicle, which accelerated “at an extremely quick rate,” according to the affidavit. The fleeing vehicle merged onto Interstate 25, heading north, but officers lost sight of it.

Around 11 a.m., the car was spotted on County Road B27, heading toward Chapelle. Officers pursued the car “at a slow speed,” before the car crashed, hitting some “large rocks” before sliding down an embankment. According to police, Valenzuela exited the car and fled on foot. Officers pursued him on foot, running through a wooded area and into a dry riverbed, but Valenzuela then climbed a steep hillside and disappeared into another wooded area, according to police.

Officers inspected the crashed car, finding that instead of a valid license plate, a Carmax plate was displayed. The keys in the ignition also had a Carmax tag connected to them. Police checked the vehicle identification number and learned the 2013 Hyundai had been reported stolen from a Carmax dealership in Albuquerque. According to court documents, the Hyundai was stolen from the Carmax’s maintenance center around 3 a.m. that day.

During a search of the vehicle, police located a laptop, a tablet, a pair of headphones and a CNM identification containing a woman’s name and photo. After contacting the woman, police learned her home in Albuquerque had been burglarized the day before. Among the many items taken were a laptop, tablet and headphones.

Police also located a wallet inside the crashed car, which contained a photo ID belonging to Valenzuela. A thorough search of the Hyundai turned up several packaged edible marijuana products, including 46 packages of gummy candies, 9 chocolate bars and 15 other packaged edible marijuana products.

Police were unable to locate Valenzuela, but based on the ID and evidence found in the car, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

On Christmas Eve, an Albuquerque woman called police to report that a man she didn’t know had broken into her home. According to a criminal complaint filed in Bernalillo Metropolitan Court, when Albuquerque Police knocked on the door, Valenzuela stuck his head through a dog door, but quickly went back inside the house.

Police continued to call for Valenzuela to exit the home, and after a few minutes, he came to the front door and surrendered to police. He later admitted he’d broken into the home by unscrewing the dog door.

Valenzuela was charged with felony breaking and entering, and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center near Albuquerque. On Dec. 26, an Albuquerque judge released Valenzuela on his own recognizance, but Valenzuela was then transported to the San Miguel County Detention Center to be held on the warrant.

He was booked into SMCDC on felony charges of receiving or transferring stolen motor vehicles, aggravated fleeing of law enforcement, possession of a controlled substance and criminal damage to property. Valenzuela also faces misdemeanor counts of receiving stolen property, and evading or obstructing an officer.

During a Dec. 27 hearing in San Miguel Magistrate Court, Judge Melanie Rivera set bond for Valenzuela at $5,000. He remained in SMCDC as of this writing.

Valenzuela is being represented by public defender David Silva and is scheduled to appear in Magistrate Court on Jan. 9 for a preliminary hearing. Valenzuela is also scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing in Bernalillo Metropolitan Court on Feb. 14.