Report: Shooting by sheriff's deputy 'justifiable homicide'

Mathew J. Dimas died while being taken to hospital.

An armed Tucumcari man fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy during a domestic dispute in July had at least one bomb at his home and threatened to use bombs against his wife and children, according to a New Mexico State Police investigative report.

Mathew J. Dimas, 38, died while being transported by ambulance to Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari after Quay County sheriff's deputy Joseph Otero shot him three times during a police standoff at a Logan residence, the report stated.

Those and other details came from a 123-page report, plus video excerpts and photographs, issued by state police last week. The Quay County Sun received the data through a public-records request.

The 10th Judicial District Attorney's Office in Tucumcari also received a copy of the report last week. District Attorney Timothy Rose said he would review it before determining whether to clear the deputy of wrongdoing, though the report described the shooting as a "justifiable homicide."

Sheriff Dennis Garcia said after the DA's office makes its determination, his department will undergo its own internal investigation of the shooting.

Garcia said Otero was placed on paid administrative duty for about 10 days after the shooting, then was returned to regular patrols, he said.

Logan police, sheriff's deputies and state police were sent about 2 a.m. on July 19 to the 800 block of Highway 540 Loop in Logan to check on reports of Dimas, holding a handgun, in a backyard threatening to hurt or kill his estranged wife Bobbie and her children and trying to kick in the home's door.

The report contained transcripts of dozens of threatening text messages or voicemails Dimas had sent.

Bobbie had filed restraining orders against Dimas, alleging physical abuse and threats, stating "he told me he would kill my family if we left." She noted he had made threats "to kill me and law (e)nforcement." She also alleged Dimas abused narcotic drugs.

She had left her Tucumcari home to stay with family members in Logan less than two days before.

A Logan police officer was told by the caller who reported the domestic dispute he believed Dimas had shot his gun into the air twice outside the residence.

Once police arrived, they moved the family into the home's hallway, fearing shots from Dimas' firearm. Police then evacuated three adults and six children from the home to the nearby Ute Lake Visitors Center.

Dimas barricaded himself in a shed in the rear of the property. Dimas claimed to officers he had explosives and a gun. In footage from one of the officer's body cams, Dimas could be heard screaming at officers from the shed.

According to timestamps from Otero's body cam footage, he spoke to Dimas for more than 20 minutes, trying to persuade him to put down his gun. Otero, on Dimas' requests, also tried unsuccessfully to contact his attorney, Roger Bargas of Tucumcari.

In an interview with state police, Otero said Dimas made several threats and pointed his handgun several times at Otero and other officers.

"... With his gun pointed at Deputy Otero, fearing Mr. Dimas was going to shoot at him, Deputy Otero fired three (3) shots from his duty weapon at Mr. Dimas," the report stated.

The bullets struck Dimas in the chest, chin and arm. After seeing Dimas no longer carried a gun, officers gave him first aid.

"Through the negotiation efforts with Mr. Dimas, he would get heightened and would not drop his gun," the report stated. "All during this time attempting to negotiate with Mr. Dimas, Deputy Otero still believed Mr. Dimas's wife and family were still inside of the residence.

"Another defining factor of Deputy Otero responding to the call was threats of Mr. Dimas also carrying two (2) pipe bombs on his person and this elevated the seriousness of this incident. Being as there was a firearm and now threats of potential explosives this was not a normal call from dispatch.

"To conclude, Deputy Otero feared for his life whether knowing or not Mr. Dimas would make the conscious decision to fire at him or the other officers. Deputy Otero says he tried his best to speak with Mr. Dimas and negotiate with him to no avail."

Otero, through an intermediary in the sheriff's department, declined to comment for this story.

According to the report, Dimas had threatened to kill his wife with pipe bombs and had shown her one of the explosive devices he had made. Police also were informed by Bobbie he may have obtained C-4 explosive, though none was found in police searches.

After a wounded Dimas was taken away by an ambulance, police found what looked like a pipe bomb in the shed. Investigators found two oxygen tank bottles with wires protruding from one of them. A state police bomb squad X-rayed the bottles and found no explosive material in them.

At Dimas' home in the 1500 block of South Jackson Street in Tucumcari, the bomb squad conducted searches there after obtaining a warrant.

"... One improvised device and a small amount of powdery (sic) was located within the residence," the report stated. "The item that was discovered appeared to be a firework within a tube type container that was wrapped heavily with duct tape with a hobby fuse coming out of one end."

The bomb, declared a hazard by state police, was removed from the home, examined with X-rays and rendered so it would not pose any threats. Police also found fireworks on a work bench.

"While continuing the search an amount of used firework cartridges were located in the restroom of the house," the report stated. "In the rear bedroom an amount of emptied and used firework cartridges were located on a shelf along with a small amount of powder with was removed from the fireworks."

All the fireworks were removed from the home.