Suspects in Santa Fe carjacking arrested in Pojoaque after police chase

Yahoo

12-04-2025

Two men and two women were arrested Friday morning after leading police on a high-speed chase through Pojoaque in a vehicle stolen in Santa Fe, according to police.
Santa Fe police allege the group of four took part in robbing and carjacking a man at gunpoint early Friday morning and then drove off in his 1995 Geo Metro.
Soon after, the group was spotted in the car on a highway north of the city, and officers from multiple agencies were called to assist during the apparently chaotic episode.
Christopher Varela, 40, Edward Lucio, 43, Maribella Amor Gonzales, 26, and Consuelo Ortega, 27, were booked into Santa Fe County jail on various charges in connection with the alleged spree.
Santa Fe police were called at about 6:30 a.m. Friday to a parking lot on Galisteo Road, south of Rodeo Road, where a man reported a group of four had just taken his car at gunpoint, police Deputy Chief Thomas Grundler said. The alleged victim told officers both of the men were armed with guns, and he said one of the men had pistol-whipped him while the other fired a shot, Grundler said.
Santa Fe police issued a 'be on the lookout' alert to surrounding agencies for the white Geo Metro, and units from the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office and Pojoaque Pueblo both spotted the vehicle driving north on U.S. 85/284 and tried to make traffic stops, Grundler said. New Mexico State Police were also called for assistance.
Police scanner transmissions Friday morning indicated that before 7:30 a.m., Pojoaque police began a pursuit of the vehicle and attempted multiple times to ram the Metro in what are known as PIT maneuvers, or precision immobilization techniques. The chase continued onto N.M. 503, radio communications indicated, and the Metro was reaching high speeds, often driving against traffic flow in the wrong lanes. Officers were instructed to hold northbound traffic on the highway.
Two state police units — and four total officers — assisted Pojoaque police in the pursuit, state police Sgt. Ricardo Breceda wrote in response to questions Friday afternoon.
Breceda noted the chase came to an end across from the Cities of Gold Casino Hotel, where the four suspects were then arrested.
Officials from the agencies involved in the chase did not provide details Friday about how exactly the pursuit ended or whether any injuries were reported.
The four people arrested all reside in Santa Fe, and each has faced at least a handful of criminal charges in recent years ranging from shoplifting and drug possession to gun crimes, battery and kidnapping. They were each booked into jail Friday afternoon, and new charges were filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court. The details of some of the allegations were not available as of Friday evening.
Varela and Lucio both face charges of armed robbery, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon. Varela also faces charges of aggravated fleeing from police and negligent discharge of a firearm, with police accusing him of firing a gun during the alleged robbery as well as being the driver during the chase.
The two women arrested, Gonzales and Ortega, each face felony counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Gonzales also faces a count of felon in possession of a firearm or destructive device.
Police noted there were active arrest warrants alleging failure to appear in court against Lucio and Ortega at the time of the arrest.