Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Nara Visa man accused of sex crimes with minor
A 24-year-old Nara Visa man has been accused of 11 counts of sexual penetration of a minor age 13-16 and one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor 13 to 18 years old, according to case documents filed Dec. 19 in Quay County Magistrate Court .
Justin Allen Payne, 24, of Nara Visa, is also charged with one count of distributing marijuana to a minor and a count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Payne was arrested on Dec. 19 and was freed on Dec. 20 after posting bond, Quay County Detention Center reports said.
The victim is a 13-year-old girl, court records show. The relationship between the girl and Payne was discovered by the girl’s father on Dec. 5 when he caught her closing a laptop computer suddenly when he walked into her bedroom, according to a New Mexico State Police affidavit in the court file.
In another affidavit signed by state police agent Gerardo Hernandez, Payne said the girl and he had been dating since September and sexual encounters began in October.
Payne apparently admitted the relationship but thought the girl was older, the affidavit said, and Payne also said he had had sex with the girl 12 times.
Payne also admitted to distributing marijuana to the girl and her brother, the affidavit said.
Payne also complied in submitting to DNA sampling, the affidavit said.
Payne made his first appearance in Quay County Magistrate Court on Dec. 20.
Attempts to reach Payne were unsuccessful.
Tucumcari man faces sexual contact charges
A Tucumcari man is facing four felony counts of improper sexual contact with children under 13 years of age, and two felony counts of improper sexual contact with a child between 13 and 18 years old, according to documents filed with Tenth Judicial District Court in Tucumcari.
Marcario Gardea-Gardea is charged with repeatedly touching children who lived in his household in an improper way, court documents show.
The alleged incidents occurred between Sept. 13, 2015 and May 30 of this year, court documents show.
The case against Gardea-Gardea was filed in Quay County Magistrate Court last August and was bound over to the district court in November, court records show.
A plea conference is scheduled for Jan. 17 in Tucumcari district court.
According to an affidavit signed by Sgt. Patti Lopez of the Tucumcari Police Department, the children said they were touched improperly while they were clothed despite repeated requests from both the children and Gardea-Gardea’s wife that he stop such actions.
Gardea-Gardea is free on bond, court records show.
Attempts to reach Gardea-Gardea or his attorney, Michael Aragon, were not successful.
— Staff reports