Serving the High Plains

Man pleads no contest to resisting arrest, other charges

A Tucumcari man pleaded no contest to three charges in an incident a year ago where a city police officer was captured on video picking up and slamming the suspect to the ground as he resisted arrest after a traffic stop. The officer later was cleared of wrongdoing after an internal review.

Pete Apodaca, 44, pleaded no contest earlier this month to charges of resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, driving while license revoked and no proof of insurance, all misdemeanors.

Counts of battery upon a police officer, failure to register a vehicle and a second charge of resisting an officer were dismissed as part of the plea deal.

District Judge Albert Mitchell Jr. sentenced Apodaca to 364 days in jail, all of which were suspended but seven days, and one year of supervised probation. He also was fined $300, plus fees and costs.

Mitchell also ordered Apodaca to write a letter of apology to the two officers who arrested him.

Apodaca told Mitchell he has been sober since July 17, 2021, the day of his arrest.

Apodaca asked that his electronic ankle monitor be removed “so I don’t have to go to jail every time I go to the hospital” due to multiple health issues. Mitchell granted his request for one conviction but said must continue to wear the monitor for another.

According to the original complaint, Tucumcari Police Cpl. Herman Martinez and patrolman Justin Garcia were dispatched to investigate a possible drunken driver. They pulled over a van in the Lowe’s Market lot that matched the description. Officers found the van had been driven by Apodaca, whose revoked driver’s license included an arrest clause.

Apodaca resisted arrest as Martinez tried to handcuff him and struck Martinez in the face. Garcia “performed an arm bar takedown” on Apodaca. Martinez said he also drew his Taser several times at Apodaca to induce him to comply with his orders but never discharged it.

A Tucumcari resident inside the grocery about that time began shooting video with his smartphone. Footage showed a handcuffed Apodaca being detained by two officers near an open rear door of a Tucumcari police car.

The video showed as Apodaca was about to be placed in the car, he lunged away. The officer responded by lifting Apodaca in a bear hug and throwing him headfirst to the pavement. Both officers subdued him as he laid on the parking lot, where he could be heard moaning.

“Officer J. Garcia grabbed ahold of Apodaca and threw him to the ground to prevent him from escaping,” the criminal complaint stated. “Apodaca landed on his shoulder and head during the takedown, cutting his ear and head on the pavement.”

Apodaca’s wife told an Albuquerque television station he suffered fractured ribs during the altercation.

Martinez stated in the complaint he called dispatch to send medics to his location. Apodaca was complaining of having trouble breathing.

An ambulance arrived and took Apodaca to Trigg Memorial Hospital for treatment, the complaint stated. Medics also treated Martinez at the scene for cuts he suffered during the altercation, and he later drove to the hospital for treatment of other injuries, he wrote.

The video later was uploaded to Facebook and viewed more than 2,000 times in about 24 hours before the social-media company took it down the next day. Commenters on the platform largely were split between those who thought the officer went too far and those who said he used appropriate force on a suspect resisting arrest.

Footage of the video also was shown on several television stations.

About a month later, Garcia was cleared of wrongdoing after an internal investigation, and he was returned to his job after his administrative leave.

Apodaca’s lawyer, Adam Oakey of Albuquerque, said days after the internal investigation he was “outraged” by the officers’ conduct during the arrest. Oakey had stated in an email he would “seek justice” by filing a lawsuit for the injuries Apodaca sustained and would “shed light on the dangerous and violent practices of the Tucumcari Police Department.”

An email to Oakey on Sunday requesting comment about Apodaca’s sentencing was not answered.

Martinez retired from the force less than a year later and embarked on an unsuccessful run for Quay County sheriff in the Republican primary election in June.

 
 
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