SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A Santa Fe man is behind bars after police say he stole a vehicle, but this isn’t his first run in with the law this month.
“Let me see your hands, put your hands up,” said officers.
The call to Santa Fe police came in around 11 Friday morning. Officers responded to a home near Zia Rd and Rodeo Rd, over a stolen vehicle but the car was still on the move.
That’s when New Mexico State Police’s Aircraft Unit, which was conducting a special operation over Santa Fe at the time, was able to track 38-year-old Shane Sanchez as he drove towards Rodeo Plaza, keeping officers on the ground informed on his movements as they watched from above.
“Walking towards the subway,” officers heard over radio chatter. “Walking towards subway,” an officer in pursuit repeats.
“Opposite side walking through the parking lot,” officer heard over radio chatter.
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The suspect then abandoned the car at the plaza and went inside one of the businesses, where he was arrested. The stolen vehicle was also recovered and processed for evidence.
But on the way to the patrol car Sanchez kept repeating the same question, “What’s wrong guys?” Again, he said, “What’s wrong guys…I haven’t done nothing, we were just walking,” said Sanchez. The officer replies, “Just walking okay.”
But this wasn’t the first time Sanchez had been in handcuffs this month. He is also facing separate charges filed last week, for resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer.
Police said he was one of fourteen people who would not come out of a home on Camino del bosque during a four-hour long swat situation, where officers identified a different suspect in a shooting they say took place at the house. He pleaded not guilty to those charges and is scheduled to face a judge on February 14th.
Santa Fe police department said on social media they are grateful to state police for their assistance in the arrest thanking the agency for ‘keeping the community safe’.
Sanchez was booked into the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center and facing unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and two drug charges for his most recent arrest.