State police seize $40,000 in fentanyl pills in Santa Fe bust
Jul. 21—New Mexico State Police officers said they seized more than 5,000 fentanyl pills, $5,000 in cash and a pistol earlier this month after arresting two suspects in an empty parking lot near Siler Road.
The street value for the pills is approximately $40,000, according to a department news release issued Wednesday.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Magistrate Court, a state police officer July 6 spotted a green Honda CR-V in the parking lot of The Alignment Shop on Cooks Road. The business was closed at the time.
The driver was reversing backward, and a check on the vehicle's license plate revealed the car was stolen, according to a criminal complaint.
The man police said was operating the vehicle later was identified as Leandro Anaya, according to a criminal complaint. Anaya, 38, has been convicted on aggravated assault, burglary and larceny charges, according to court records.
State police spokeswoman Candace Hopkins said the area is known for illegal activity. "A lot of stolen vehicles end up in that area," she said.
As the officer entered the parking lot, he was approached by Letasha Montoya, a complaint stated. The officer asked Montoya who had backed up the Honda and she responded she did not know. When the officer went to question two men in a white pickup who also were in the area, Anaya unlocked the Honda and began running toward the car, according to the complaint.
The officer was able to catch Anaya, but Montoya approached him in "an aggressive manner" and impeded his ability to place Anaya in custody, according to the complaint.
Anaya then tried to get into the nearby pickup, but the officer was able to prevent him from escaping, the complaint stated.
Anaya and Montoya were arrested and both are charged on suspicion of trafficking a controlled substance and receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle.
They were booked into the Santa Fe County jail.
Montoya, 33, was released
July 8 through an unsecured $2,500 bond. She did not appear in court for a hearing Wednesday morning, according to court records. Anaya is being held in jail while awaiting a preliminary hearing July 25 in state District Court.
State police found the fentanyl pills in a brown bag under a floorboard in the CR-V, according to the complaint, and found the cash and a Glock 21 pistol.
