ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (Washington Insider Magazine) – In a dramatic New Mexico highway pursuit this week, a woman first considered to be a victim of a kidnapping now faces a murder by vehicle charge, police said Saturday.
According to New Mexico State Police, Jeannine Jaramillo, 46, of Albuquerque, is suspected of fabricating a scenario about a carjacking and kidnapping that resulted in a pursuit that killed 2 individuals and injured 2 others.
Jaramillo was taken into custody on Saturday afternoon. At a press conference, New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies stated she faced counts of acquiring a stolen car, first-degree homicide by vehicle, evidence tampering, and evading law police.
Santa Fe city police believed they were chasing a reported kidnapper and carjacker when they got into a high-speed chase with a white Chevrolet Malibu on Wednesday morning, according to state police. Later, the Malibu proceeded the wrong way along Interstate 25’s northbound lanes.
According to state police, the chase resulted in a five-vehicle crash that killed Frank Lovato, 62, a former fireman from Las Vegas, and Robert Duran, 43, a Santa Fe policeman from New Mexico.
Authorities stated two people, including Jaramillo, were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Witnesses reported they spotted a man departing the accident site just south of the Santa Fe city line, corroborating the scenario, officials added.
According to NBC NEWS, authorities looked for the suspected kidnapper but subsequently announced that the individual had fled.
The Malibu was taken in Las Vegas, New Mexico, on Feb. 28 after its owner left it running to warm it up, according to state police. According to state police, a key to the automobile was subsequently discovered in a police car where Jaramillo was taken following the incident.
Jaramillo was first identified as a victim.
Authorities claimed during a press conference Saturday that Jaramillo told an acquaintance Wednesday that she had been kidnapped at knifepoint, and the person contacted 911. It’s unclear if the call occurred before or after the chase.
Jaramillo informed police that her boyfriend pressured her to commit a crime at knifepoint during another pursuit in September, authorities claimed at the press conference.
Authorities stated Saturday that evidence revealed she was alone in the vehicle.
The vehicle’s event data recorder only recorded one person, and her DNA was discovered on the driver’s side airbag, state police confirmed Saturday night.
On Saturday night, Jaramillo was arrested and put into the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center, where he was being detained without bond.
Jaramillo may receive 30 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder, according to the district attorney.