Bond eludes Gurule
Grants convict remains jailed after high-speed chase

Traffic was backed up for more that five miles on eastbound Interstate 40 Saturday while police investigate a high-speed pursuit that ended near Mile Marker 79 in Milan when two police cars crashed into the stolen vehicle they were chasing. [Photo by John A. Bowersmith/Independent]

By Jim Maniaci
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — The 31-year-old Grants convict who led city and state police officers on a high-speed chase which ended Saturday in a minor-injury crash on Interstate 40 in Milan remained in the Cibola County Detention Center on Monday without bail.

Jail officials said Andrew Gurule, of Encino Avenue and Lobo Canyon Road in Grants, was booked on three no-bond district court bench warrants involving two cases.

Judge Camille Martinez-Olguin signed the first bench warrant on March 9 for failing to comply with probation and her second one on March 27 for failing to show up for his March 17 arraignment. Judge John Pope signed his bench warrant on March 20 for Gurule failing to show up for his jury trial that same day, according to district court records.

Grants City Police Department Chief Marty Vigil said the case was turned over to the state. New Mexico State Police Division press officer Lt. Jimmy Glascock said additional charges are pending the completion of state detectives' investigation.

According to Vigil and Glascock, the chase of almost 10 miles began shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of Lobo Canyon Road and Roosevelt Avenue in the north side Grants business district when city Officer John Castaeda spotted a stolen 1996 Chevrolet pickup truck for which an attempt-to-locate broadcast has just been given.

Gurule led the officer and his back-up, Corporal Gilbert Gonzales who was an arresting officer in a previous case against Gurule south down Nimitiz Drive and east to Santa Fe Avenue where it becomes Interchange 85 on Interstate 40.

The suspect then headed west on I-40 at a high rate of speed. Several semi-truck drivers could see what was happening and slowed traffic to reduce the risk of wrecks. Gurule apparently attempted to cause a crash by ramming New Mexico State Police Officer Anthony Molina's unit; however, this boxed him in on one side, and Officer Gonzales closed the pincher move by nosing his cruiser in front of the pickup.

When the suspect got to Exit 79 in Milan, he U-turned back into the eastbound lanes. The state vehicle was more heavily damaged and the city vehicle had its right door dented in. Neither agency has said who owns the stolen pickup truck. No damage estimates were available Monday.

Gurule was treated at Cibola General Hospital for minor injuries and was the only person hurt. The cops then hauled him off to the county jail.

The crash detoured freeway traffic for about five hours as state police detectives took over the case. As of Monday afternoon Gurule had not made his first appearance in 13th District Magistrate Court in Grants.

Gurule was indicted in the first case by the local grand jury on May 19, 2004, on charges of 4th-degree felony possession of the controlled substance methamphetamine and two misdemeanor possession of marijuana counts in a Grants police case with then Sgt. Maxine Monte and Officer Moses Marquez as the complainants. Monte is now Lt. Maxine Spidle. Her probable cause statement said officers saw him leave a downtown bar and knew there were outstanding warrants for his arrest. They chased him down on foot and in his pocket found a gold case with the meth.

On Sept. 14, 2004, Judge Pope, who had replaced Martinez-Olguin in the case, released Gurule into his sister's custody but placed him under house arrest, allowing him to leave only to go to work.

On Jan. 12, 2005, a woman's vehicle was stolen with her purse inside. Checks were written on her account and her money card used, court records state. A week later agent Rocky Klein stopped a vehicle for having a 1999 license plate and he recognized Gurule who was a passenger in the vehicle. Klein saw Gurule put something behind the seat it turned out to be the missing wallet and he arrested Gurule.

On Jan. 21, 2005, Assistant District Attorney Kristina Faught-Hollar filed a motion to revoke his release on the grounds he broke the conditions by being in a vehicle stopped by Gonzales on another matter. His defense attorney, Daniel Salazar, also confirmed Gurule had not been in contact, as the judge ordered.

Gurule then began a pattern of attempting to delay justice by not obtaining an attorney, attempting to dump his legal counsel and by not showing up in court when he was supposed to be there.

The delays led to several extensions by the New Mexico Supreme Court to stay within the speedy trial provisions of the Constitution, starting on April 1, 2005.

On Dec. 19, 2005, Judge Pope released Gurule, five days after Faught-Hollar filed a supplement showing the defendant's past criminal record of convictions. This included convictions for escapes, three counts of house burglary, receiving stolen property worth more than $2,500, evidence tampering, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

She asked Gurule be given an additional eight-year sentence for being a habitual offender.

Judge Martin G. Pearl filled in for Pope in the 2004 case in announcing the sentence, which was filed in the District Court Clerk's Office on Feb. 14, 2005. The three-year sentence was for escape was replaced by three years of supervised probation, plus requirements that he drink no alcoholic beverages, enter an outpatient treatment program and pay his parole costs.

Attached was a judgment issued Feb. 21, 2000, by Judge Joseph Arite for Gurule's Sept. 27, 1999, convictions. He sentenced Gurule to a net of 3.5 years, less 196 days credit for pre-sentence time served, along with two years parole after his release, $400 in DNA fees ($100 for each of four cases which had been consolidated) and successfully completing the Community Corrections Program. He was to serve his time at the Central New Mexico Men's Correctional Facilty in Los Lunas.

On June 6, 2001, Martinez-Olguin signed an amended sentence, giving Gurule a net of three years, with 181 days subtracted for pre-sentence confinement, $100 for the DNA fee, probation costs and two years parole after release.

On March 15, 2006, Faught-Hollar filed to revoke parole (by amending the conditions of release) because Gurule failed to appear at the McKinley County Community Compliance Program. That followed Martinez-Olguin signing a bench warrant on March 9 for failure to comply with the requirement.

On March 20, 2006, Pope signed an arrest warrant because Gurule failed to appear at his jury trial that same day.

In a second indictment on Feb. 8, 2006, the grand jury's true bill charges Gurule with 3rd-degree felony forgery, 4th-degree receiving stolen property worth $250-$2,500 and 4th-degree felony fraud of at least $250.

On Feb. 13, 2006, Magistrate Jackie Fisher set the preliminary hearing for March 7 before Magistrate Eliseo Alcon, named Gary Fernandez the public defender and set bond at $20,000, court records show. The case was transferred to district court with arraignment set for March 17.

Martinez-Olguin signed the bench warrant for Gurule's arrest 10 days after he failed to appear at his arraignment, with no bond allowed.

— To contact reporter Jim Maniaci in Grants, telephone 285-6184 or (505) 870-7775 (cellular).