Written by Officer Ray Wilson 08/13/2021
Espanola, NM – On August 11, 2021, the New Mexico State Police arrested Jerome Naranjo, 37, of Chamita, NM who was wanted for pointing a gun at a State Police officer back in June.
On June 14, 2021, a New Mexico State Police officer and officers from the Espanola Police Department (EPD) were attempting to execute an arrest warrant on Jerome Naranjo at 708 Calle De Amor in Espanola, NM. The warrant was in connection with a stabbing case handled by EPD.
During that encounter, Naranjo got out of a vehicle, pointed a gun at the NMSP officer, and fled on foot. The NMSP officer fired his weapon at Naranjo, who fled the area and evaded law enforcement.
For the next few months, an extensive investigation was conducted by EPD and NMSP Uniform Bureau consisting of traffic stops, execution of search warrants throughout the community, and following numerous leads and tips submitted on the case.
On August 11, 2021, the investigation led NMSP officers to Naranjo, who was inside a residence at private drive 1134 A, House 8 in La Mesilla, NM. NMSP Uniform Bureau, NMSP Special Operations Bureau, and US Marshall’s Service responded to the scene. At around noon NMSP Negotiators were able to talk Naranjo into coming out of the residence and surrender peacefully.
“Effective collaboration between law enforcement agencies is a must for success,” said Tim Johnson, Chief of the New Mexico State Police. “I’m proud of NMSP’s working relationship with the Espanola Police Department, the U.S. Marshall’s Service and the agencies that safely brought this violent criminal to justice.”
Naranjo was taken into custody without further incident and booked into the Rio Arriba County Detention Center on an outstanding arrest warrant for Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer, Aggravated Assault on Household Member, Kidnapping, Receiving or Transferring a Stolen Vehicle, and Resisting Evading a Police Officer.
This investigation was led by the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau with assistance from the Espanola Police Department, U.S. Marshall’s Service, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, and the Albuquerque Police Department.
