Californian arrested for firing at car on freeway

By Jim Maniaci
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — A 20-year-old California man traveling from Oklahoma to California with his pregnant fiancee is charged with shooting a BB gun at another vehicle on Interstate 40 Saturday night and is scheduled to be back in 13th District Magistrate's Court in Grants on April 4.

Jason Moore of Valencia, Calif., is charged with 4th-degree felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, 4th-degree felony shooting at a vehicle, petty misdemeanor negligent use of a weapon and property damage of less than $1,000.

He was booked into the Cibola County Detention Center early Sunday on a $1,000 cash surety bond on two of the charges and no bond on the other two. As of Monday he remained in jail.

At Moore's first appearance Monday, Magistrate Jackie Fisher appointed Daniel Salazar as the public defender and issued the standard eight conditions for release. They include no contact with Michael Tribble, the other driver, and that he enter the community compliance program.

According to the report by Cibola County Deputy Sheriff George Hanna, he, two other deputies and two state police officers responded. Only Moore was charged.

The deputy said he was on patrol at 7:08 p.m. Sunday and was sent with Deputies James Peters and Xavier Hernandez to a call of shots fired at a vehicle on I-40 at westbound Mile Post 104, two miles east of Sky City.

Tribble had pulled over at Mile Post 96 westbound. With Tribble were his wife Susana and their children Ashley and Michael, Hanna said. No one was injured, according to Mrs. Tribble, because the kids were sleeping in the back seat.

Meanwhile, Peters had found Moore and pulled him over at Mile Marker 88. Deputy Hernandez and New Mexico State Police Department Officers Craig Vanderver and Rudy Graham quickly joined him.

Hanna saw Tribble's left running light was shot out and advised the other lawmen to look for a BB gun. He said the other three found a loaded semi-automatic 12-gram CO2-powered BB pistol.

The deputy said Moore's passenger, Robin Auten, no age given, was more than two months pregnant and was combative at being detained at the county jail for questioning. Taken to the Cibola General Hospital, he said she signed a refusal of treatment, and was taken back to the jail.

Meanwhile, Hanna called Deputy District Attorney Randy Collins, who advised him to give Auten her Miranda rights. The deputy delayed interviewing her until an ambulance crew could be present in case of any complications and she agreed to talk.

She said they were traveling from Tulsa, Okla., to Long Beach, Calif., when a red truck came up behind them and attempted to run them off the highway. She said Moore pulled the BB pistol unloaded and pointed it at the other driver. She added Moore did not fire the BB gun. He then speeded up and pulled away from the truck.

"I asked Ms. Auten why they did not pull over and call the police at the next exit. She stated her fiancee was freaked out and did not want to have any contact with the police," Moore said. The deputy said he halted the interview when Auten became distressed. She also refused to provide a written statement. He returned her to the jail to pick up her things and released her.

Deputy Hanna, who questioned Moore, said that the other driver pulled up behind him in the passing lane and flashed his lights. Moore said he put on his brakes. Asked if he pulled out the gun, Moore refused to say any more, according to the deputy.


Stolen vehicle recovered
A GMC pickup truck stolen after 5:30 p.m. Friday from a home at 2056 Bell Road was recovered Sunday in San Rafael after the thief parked it when being chased by the owner.

Gene Johnson reported to Deputy Sheriff James Peters that he and his wife returned home around 2 p.m. Saturday and noticed the truck, no year listed in the report, was gone. But they found their son in the house and he said he hadn't gone anywhere.

The stealthy thieves had quietly unhitched a trailer attached to the truck and silently drove away. A neighbor also advised he hadn't seen the truck when he went by at 7 a.m. Saturday.

On Sunday, the deputy was sent to Otero Road and Mirabel Street in San Rafael, where Johnson had found the truck. He told the lawman he was headed south on N.M. Highway 53 when his truck passed him going the other direction. He turned around and chased the driver, who waved at him as he passed. After losing sight of his quarry, Johnson found the truck, with the keys in the ignition.

The only description he could provide was a skinny Hispanic man with a multiple-colored shirt.

Missing are a Dan Wesson .357 caliber magnum handgun, a Stanley Workman double-stacked tool box on wheels containing mostly Craftsman brand tools, a red Handyman jack, a yellow 2-ton floor jack, an Old Timbers knife and a Verizon cellular telephone. At the time Johnson did not know the values.

Magistrate releases manThe 44-year-old man accused of hitting his wife on the back of the head with a gun barrel was released on his own recognizance by a magistrate and is scheduled to be back in 13th District Magistrate's Court on April 4.

Jake "Jack" Mansperger, who has a Ramah Post box and lives in the Timberlake neighborhood, was released by Magistrate Jackie Fisher on March 22, thus canceling a $10,000 cash only bond. One of the release conditions is that he hire a private attorney within 30 days as well as avoid contact with his wife, Anita Mansperger.

If the case proceeds to a conviction, his 3rd-degree felony charge of aggravated battery on a household member with a deadly weapon could bring him a maximum penalty of three years in state prison, a $5,000 fine, or both.

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