Man sentenced for high-speed chase

A Tucumcari man was sentenced Wednesday to six years in state prison, with all but nine months of that suspended, in a plea deal after he was accused last summer of speeding dangerously on city streets during a police pursuit with two adults and three children in the vehicle.

Marcus Pacheco, 30, initially was charged and jailed on 19 criminal counts, including six felonies.

According to court documents, Pacheco pleaded guilty to three counts of child abuse (no death or great bodily harm), 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 and one count of criminal damage to property (under $1,000).

The child-abuse and fleeing counts were felonies.

Pacheco was considered a habitual offender due to his convictions for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2015 and aggravated burglary and false imprisonment in 2012.

Seven counts of failure to stop at a stop sign, two counts of false imprisonment, one court of driving while intoxicated with a minor in the vehicle, one count of driving while license suspended and one count of reckless driving were dismissed as part of the deal.

According to the agreement accepted by Judge Albert Mitchell Jr., five years and 90 days of the six-year prison sentence were suspended in favor of supervised probation. Pacheco also was given credit for time served while in the county jail for 266 days.

After his incarceration, Pacheco must be placed on five years of supervised probation and one year of parole.

Pacheco also must complete one year of a batterers intervention prevention program, undergo alcohol screening and participate in any recommended rehabilitation, perform 24 hours of community service, attend DWI school and have his driver’s license revoked for one year. He also must obtain and use an ignition interlock license for one year.

“You really gotta stay sober,” Mitchell said to Pacheco during sentencing.

“Yes, sir,” Pacheco replied.

Mitchell imposed fines totaling $3,000, plus fees and costs that would range from $500 to $1,200.

According to the initial complaint filed by Tucumcari Police Sgt. Shaun Slate, on the evening of June 12 he saw a van going 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 van turned south onto Monroe Street at a speeds of more than 60 mph and went airborne several times at intersections without stopping.

Tucumcari officer Justin Garcia joined in the pursuit. The vehicle finally stopped at the 1600 block of South Third Street.

Pacheco left the vehicle and approached an officer with his hands extended. Slate and Garcia pointed their firearms at Pacheco and gave commands for him to drop and drop to his knees before he complied.

Pacheco tried to spin out of Slate’s control and grab items on his uniform belt during his arrest. One of the children 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 drank it at another home. She said she saw him drink whiskey during an outing at Ute Lake in Logan. She said they began to argue, and he drove home at speeds of 100 mph and negotiated turns at 50 mph with her, an adult 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 and she felt pain in her left forearm, which were treated at Trigg Memorial Hospital. She said she had 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 and seeing him strike the woman.

While in a police car, Pacheco tried to kick out the windows and bent a rear window frame.