Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A Tucumcari man acknowledged his accessory role in a shooting at a west-side motel but was sentenced to probation and other conditions Wednesday because of his cooperation with police to secure another conviction in the case.
Joseph Quintana, 31, pleaded guilty weeks ago to attempted aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Other counts of aggravated burglary with deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon were dismissed in exchange for him being willing to testify against Tucumcari resident Bobby Lee Vandiver, 32, the triggerman in the case.
Vandiver pleaded guilty last month to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer, battery and possession of a firearm by a felon in a plea deal just days before he was scheduled to go to trial. He received a 10-year sentence in the Department of Corrections.
On July 24, Tucumcari police officers went to a report of a shooting at a motel in the 800 block of West Route 66. The victim was taken to Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari and airlifted to an Amarillo hospital.
Vandiver was arrested after an eight-hour search and blockade by law-enforcement agencies, including a lockdown of nearby Mesalands Community College and the closing of Route 66. Quintana, who was with Vandiver during the shooting, was apprehended after a days-long manhunt.
District Judge Albert Mitchell Jr. sentenced Quintana to 18 months of probation and required he maintain his employment, undergo a mental-health evaluation, require his parents to give input to the probation department on who he can associate with and required he pay court fees and costs within nine months.
Mitchell noted he could have given a tougher sentence if Quintana hadn’t cooperated with police.
“Stepping up early and giving statements is the only reason we’re doing this,” Mitchell said of sentencing Quintana to probation.
Deputy District Attorney Tom Blakeney acknowledged the shooting was “egregious,” but Quintana “was forthcoming from the beginning” and told police the truth even before a plea deal.
“The further cooperation of the defendant tipped the scales to where Bobby Vandiver entered a plea,” Blakeney said. “Being willing to testify is a big deal. People have to realize taking a stand against evil is a good thing.”
Quintana’s willingness to cooperate also prevented the shooting victim from having to testify in court, he added.
Quintana’s defense lawyer, Brett Phelps of Las Vegas, also said his client’s cooperation was admirable for another reason.
“He did so at substantial risk to himself and his family,” Phelps said. “He did so risking retaliation from Mr. Vandiver and his associates.”
Phelps said Quintana has demonstrated a willingness to make amends. He said Quintana returned to his family’s First Assembly of God Church and is working with the pastor there on a drug- and substance-abuse discussion group.
Phelps said Quintana works part-time at Jack’s Towing and has a full-time job waiting for him at Love’s Travel Center once his criminal case is resolved.
Quintana also took over running his late grandfather’s 25-acre farm, Phelps said, and is working with Mesalands Community College to earn both an equivalent of a high-school diploma and a carpenter’s license.
“He’s doing everything he can to turn his life around,” Phelps said.
Quintana told Mitchell “I know I’ve done wrong and will pay consequences for that” and vowed “not to hang out with nobody and stay with my family and kids.”