FARMINGTON – A suspect in a killing in Colorado was arrested in Española, north of Santa Fe, after a car chase and foot pursuit, according to the New Mexico State Police.
Richard Martinez of Longmont was arrested Friday when a 2019 Maroon Dodge Caravan he was driving was spotted by a surveillance team at the home of a relative in Española.
Martinez, 33, was identified by the Longmont Police Department as the suspect in the fatal shooting of 34-year-old Matthew Bond on June 3. Martinez was wanted on suspicion of first-degree murder, police said.
The New Mexico State Police received information Thursday that Martinez was in the Española area after fleeing Colorado, possibly headed to Mexico.
The state police said officers attempted to stop the vehicle on U.S. Highway 285, but Martinez fled, leading to a 25-mile chase. An officer with the state police implemented a pursuit intervention technique, or PIT maneuver, tapping the fleeing car from behind and causing it to spin out.
After jumping out of the car, Martinez fled on foot, the state police said. State troopers and Española Police Department officers arrested Martinez.
The Longmont Police Department said it received reports of a possible shooting at 4:15 a.m. June 3, but the suspect and victim fled the area in separate vehicles. The body of Bond was later found in a stolen car in Longmont. An autopsy has not been released.
Martinez was booked at the Rio Arriba County Detention Center in Española and will be extradited to Colorado.
lweber@durangoherald.com