Police track alleged criminals

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — A man and woman who fled from police following an motor vehicle accident, were tracked through the snow and arrested at a burned out structure.

Erminio "Herman" DuBois, 29, and Darlene Valdez, both listing a post office box address in San Rafael, had outstanding warrants from different courts, and that is the reason that DuBois fled from police, said Grants Police Detective Moses Marquez.

Sgt. James Spidle said dispatch told officers the pair was fleeing toward apartments on High Street. Grants Police Chief Marty Vigil and Marquez tracked the pair from the scene of the accident to a building at Gold and Short streets, calling for them to come out. The pair did not so Marquez and Vigil entered the building and found no one there.

The officers then followed shoeprints in the snow to the abandoned building where both were arrested, Spidle said.

The vehicle that the pair was in was reported stolen from Albuquerque and items that appeared to be from burglaries, including jewelry, power tools and drugs not belonging to either of the pair, were found in the car, which was totaled at the accident on Jan. 31, Spidle said.

DuBois is still in custody at the Cibola County Detention on a $20,000 cash surety bond, but Valdez was sent to the emergency room telling paramedics and police she was pregnant and bleeding.

She was treated at Cibola General Hospital then released.

"She was not pregnant, and she lied to us," Marquez said.

She had a couple of traffic warrants for her arrest and one for a failure to appear in court and is now free and being sought by police.

A woman in her late 30s was the driver of the second vehicle in the accident. She was treated and released at the emergency room with a right knee injury and laceration, Marquez said.

DuBois is charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injuries, possession of a stolen vehicle, failure to yield and evading a police officer.

He is also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of stolen property and possession of stolen prescription medication. The medication is from a resident of Milan, Marquez said.

DuBois was originally charged in connection with the outstanding warrants and his fleeing the accident. The charges listed above were served on him in the detention center by Marquez on Tuesday.

Police found a number of syringes and a drug pipe in the car. DuBois is a known heroin user, Marquez said.

DuBois is well known to Grants police, having a long record of arrests and warrants for a variety of crimes, some of them violent, Marquez said

The list of crimes goes back to 1993 and includes: at least two counts of negligent use of a firearm, aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, aggravated residential burglary, forgery, residential burglary, receiving a stolen vehicle, two counts of possession of drugs with intent to distribute, numerous traffic citations, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, minor in possession of alcohol and 11 warrants.

He also has three different Social Security numbers, Marquez said, "and served time as a juvenile for shooting at a building."

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin, call (505) 287-2197 or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.