Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A Tucumcari man remains jailed this week on 19 charges — including six felonies — after being accused of speeding dangerously on city streets while being pursed by police while two adults and three children were in his vehicle.
Marcus Anthony Pacheco, 29, was charged June 14 with three counts of negligent child abuse (no death or great bodily harm), two counts of false imprisonment, one count of aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer, one count of aggravated battery against a household member, one count of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor, one count of resisting evading or obstructing an officer, one count of criminal damage to property under $1,000, one count of reckless driving, seven counts of failure to yield at a stop sign and one count of driving while license suspended or revoked.
The child-abuse counts are third-degree felonies that can lead up to three years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine. Several other counts were fourth-degree felonies, which can lead to up to 18 months in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.
According to a complaint filed by Tucumcari Police Sgt. Shaun Slate, the evening of June 12 he saw a 2000 Ford Windstar van being driven at a high speed on Tucumcari Boulevard. It later was determined Pacheco was driving.
Slate wrote he activated his emergency lights and siren and followed the vehicle on Tucumcari Boulevard. The van turned south onto Monroe Street at a speeds of more than 60 mph and bounced airborne several times at intersections.
Pacheco didn’t stop at several intersections. Near Max Avenue and Monroe Street, Pacheco stopped the van and dropped off an adult male passenger. The van sped through several stop intersections and streets. Tucumcari officer Justin Garcia joined in the pursuit. The vehicle finally stopped onto property in the 1600 block of South Third Street.
Pacheco left the vehicle and approached an officer with his hands extended from his sides.
“Ofc. Garcia and I both had our firearms drawn and gave commands for Marcus to stop and go to his knees,” Slate wrote. “Marcus refused and continued to yell at Ofc. Garcia and I. While Marcus was yelling I could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath. I gave Marcus the final command to turn around and place his bands behind his back and he complied.”
Pacheco tried to spin out of Slate’s control and grab items on Slate’s uniform belt during his arrest and continued to struggle while being handcuffed. One of the children who were in the van suffered a seizure after it stopped.
A woman in the van said Pacheco was sick and not supposed to consume alcohol but did so at another residence. She said she also saw him drink Jim Beam whiskey during an outing that day at Ute Lake. She said they began to argue, and he drove home at speeds of 100 mph and negotiated turns at 50 mph with her, another passenger and three children in the van.
She told police Pacheco punched her in the face several times during the drive. Slate wrote he saw redness and swelling to the left side of her face, redness to her left eye and felt severe pain to her left forearm, which were treated at Trigg Memorial Hospital. She said she urged Pacheco to stop the vehicle for her and her children’s safety, but he refused.
Garcia spoke with one of the children, who said Pacheco was driving so fast he thought the vehicle would flip. Two other children told the officer of being frightened of his driving so fast and saw him striking the woman.
While in custody in a police car, Pacheco tried to kick out the windows and bent its right rear window frame. While completing paperwork, Slate found out Pacheco’s drivers license had been suspended since last year.
After that, Slate booked Pacheco into the Quay County Detention Center.
Acting Magistrate Judge Buddy Hall on June 15 ordered the case be transferred to district court.
He also refused bond for Pacheco after the district attorney’s office filed a motion to keep him in custody to protect other people and the community. The motion cited Pacheco’s previous criminal history that included arrests in Quay County for battery, attempted burglary, attempted murder and violating a restraining order.
Public defender Anna Aragon was listed in online court documents as Pacheco’s attorney. She could not be reached for comment.