Logan man receives mostly suspended sentence

A Logan man recently was given a mostly suspended jail sentence in Tucumcari district court after being accused of dragging a woman by the hair, throwing her down a set of stairs and kicking her.

Santiago Romero, 24, was convicted of a misdemeanor count of aggravated battery against a household member. He initially was charged with a felony count of that charge that could have led to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

District Judge Albert Mitchell Jr. give Romero a jail sentence of 18 months, with all but three weeks suspended, and was ordered to supervised probation, according to online court documents. Romero was given credit for about seven months served in jails in Quay County, Colorado and El Paso, Texas.

He was ordered to complete a 52-week Quay County Domestic Battery Prevention Program and pay a $5 domestic violence prevention fee and a $50 crime victims’ reparation fee. Romero also is forbidden from owning firearms and was ordered to perform 120 hours of community service within six months.

Santiago also pleaded guilty during the hearing to failure to appear on a felony charge and a 2016 count of perjury.

District Attorney Timothy Rose argued in court Romero was not a good candidate for probation.

“He was given three chances to do what is right, and he has not done that for a period of three years,” he said.

The victim of the attack did not testify in court. She lived in Logan while Romero worked in Dalhart, Texas; she now lives with her mother in Tucumcari. A restraining order against Romero remains in place.

Romero’s public defender, Anna Aragon, asked for probation, noting Romero was young when the offenses occurred and he’s accepted responsibility for his actions. She said Romero remains employed and is supporting four children.

“I want to apologize for all the things I have done in my past,” Romero said in court. “I have learned a lot. I have a newborn baby; he is five months old now. He has motivated me. I want to get things taken care of and be a good father.”

According to a complaint initially filed in Tucumcari magistrate court by Logan police officer Wade Strand, the victim told the officer her brother from Texas was visiting May 19 at her home and had left to return to work the next day. A few minutes later, she heard a knock on the door and went to unlock it, thinking it was her brother. Instead, it was Romero trying to gain access to the house.

The woman tried to dial 911 but was unable to do so before Romero grabbed her hair and dragged her through the house. Outside, the woman said Romero threw her down a flight of stairs. She said she tried to get up but kicked her back to the ground.

She tried to dial 911 again, Romero heard the dispatcher pick up on the line, and he left the residence in his vehicle.

The woman told the officer an infant was in the crib during the attack and that she was “afraid for my life” and “I’m afraid that Santiago will kill me.”

The officer stated he saw a laceration to the woman’s right ankle, abrasions on both arms and complained her head was hurting, though she refused hospitalization. Strand wrote he found a wad of black hair in the living room matching the woman’s and found her eyeglasses on the ground about 12 feet from the porch.

The woman and her children were taken to a safe location, Strand wrote. Romero was booked into the county jail the next day.