By Uriel J. Garcia
The Santa Fe New Mexican
SANTA FE, N.M. — State police investigators say in an affidavit that a 30-year-old man killed by police after a nearly 40-mile chase had fired his gun first at a Sandoval County sheriff’s deputy and a state police officer, before at least one of the officers returned fire.
That account of the deadly shooting nearly two weeks ago was contained in the affidavit police filed this week in state District Court. But the document doesn’t say whether both the deputy and the state police officer fired their weapons; nor does it contain other basic details of the shooting.
As of Friday, state police still hadn’t released the name of the officer or officers who shot Marvin Maestas on Aug. 25 after an early morning chase, and they hadn’t said how many shots were fired.
The pursuit started at about 1:30 a.m. on Interstate 25 in Bernalillo. Maestas reached the Cerrillos Road exit in Santa Fe before the 2014 Dodge Ram truck he was driving came to a halt after hitting spike strips that officers had placed on the road.
Maestas got out of the truck and began running from officers, according to state police.
“The suspect fired at the officers while running through the field towards Dinosaur Trail,” the affidavit states. The foot pursuit ended in a field near Dinosaur Trail, where Maestas died, it says.
Police haven’t identified two female passengers who were riding in the pickup with Maestas. Sgt. Elizabeth Armijo, a state police spokeswoman, said the passengers were interviewed and released. On Friday, she said they haven’t been charged with any crime, though the affidavit suggests one had aided Maestas.
The affidavit says the woman drove the truck a short distance, then came to a stop at Cerrillos and Beckner roads after Maestas fled on foot. During an interview with an investigator, the woman said she was talking with Maestas on a cellphone as he was running away from officers.
“She admitted to sheltering, transporting and helping out the male suspect,” state police Agent Deriek Woody wrote in the affidavit. “She admitted that she knew the male suspect was wanted by law enforcement.”
The search warrant says investigators found drug paraphernalia and prescription drugs in the truck. Items investigators seized include six pipes with residue, two packages of Suboxone, two syringes, a spoon and 10 pills stamped “700N” in a plastic bag.
According to online court records, Maestas, of Mora, was wanted on two arrest warrants. One stemmed from an Aug. 7 confrontation in which he was accused of fleeing from a Las Vegas, N.M., officer who had tried to pull him over on an arrest warrant in a drive-by shooting. That officer shot at Maestas’ vehicle after Maestas hit the officer’s patrol car, state police have said.
The Las Vegas officer said he saw a rifle in Maestas’ vehicle. Authorities allege Maestas shot at a Ford Fusion in downtown Las Vegas on July 22, and that the Ford driver’s wife and 3-year-old daughter were in the vehicle with him.
Police have given this account of their highway pursuit of Maestas: The Sandoval County deputy saw a red pickup heading north on I-25 at more than 90 mph. The deputy tried to pull over the truck, but it took off at speeds that reached more than 100 mph. Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies, Santa Fe police and state police joined the pursuit of Maestas.
At one point, Maestas headed north in a southbound lane “to avoid the officers and the deputies,” state police Chief Pete Kassetas said after the shooting. Officers twice deployed “stop sticks” to puncture the tires before the truck reached Santa Fe. The stops sticks finally worked when officers deployed them near the Cerrillos exit of I-25.
On Friday, Armijo didn’t give any indication as to when state police will identify the officer or officers who shot Maestas. She said some interviews with the officers involved “are still pending.”
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