Santa Fe police make arrest after string of violent incidents in downtown
May 9—Santa Fe police arrested a man in connection with a succession of alleged violent incidents Saturday afternoon in the downtown area that sent at least two people to the hospital.
Santa Fe Police Department Chief Paul Joye said police arrested Marcos Antonio Montoya, 43, on a variety of charges, including suspicion of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon; felon in possession of a firearm; resisting arrest; unlawful entry; and burglary.
Joye said police were called to the Santa Fe Inn at about 3:30 p.m. after receiving reports of a man who had entered an occupied room and demanded money before beating an individual with a handgun.
Not long afterward, Joye said police were notified about a suspect who entered a vehicle in the 300 block of West Manhattan Avenue. When the owner approached the suspect, he was attacked. From there, police responded to reports of a man who was said to have accosted an employee at Hotel Santa Fe after demanding money. The victim, Joye said, was struck by a handgun, though it was not fired.
Joye said a "good Samaritan" at the scene intervened and managed to take the weapon from the suspect after a fight, prompting the suspect to flee on foot toward the intersection of West Manhattan Avenue and Guadalupe Street. After being approached by police in that area, Joye said the suspect engaged in a physical altercation with officers, including spitting on them, before being apprehended.
Joye said the suspect was in possession of fentanyl and hydrocodone.
Two people were transported to the hospital after the incidents; neither were police officers. Montoya was booked Saturday into the Santa Fe County jail.
Joye said Montoya has a Rio Rancho address but may have ties to the Santa Fe area.
