A Mountainair man is accused of evading Torrance County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) deputies twice in a two-day period earlier this month.
The second pursuit ended off-road in the desert and it is unclear whether the suspect has been arrested and taken into custody. The alleged altercations between the suspect, another driver and TCSO deputies started with an alleged road rage incident.
According to a Sept. 12 criminal complaint, around 8 a.m. Sept. 11, TCSO deputies were called to investigate a 911 call about a driver allegedly trying to cause a wreck by “brake-checking” another driver in Mountainair. The 911 caller identified the driver as Larz Isaac Zamora of Mountainair and deputies say they were later able to confirm that the driver was in fact Zamora.
Deputies say when they called the driver who called 911, she said that her husband told her an SUV with a spray-painted hood and plastic over the back window was circling their house and he asked if she could get a license plate number. According to the Sept. 12 complaint, she told TCSO deputies that she was fueling her vehicle at a gas station when she saw the SUV her husband described, began following the vehicle and identified the driver as Zamora. According to the complaint, she said Zamora looked directly into her eyes and slammed on his brakes and she believed that he was attempting to make her crash.
According to the complaint, TCSO deputies determined Zamora had an active Bernalillo County warrant and a revoked/invalid driver’s license. Deputies say they saw the SUV driving on N.M. Highway 55 and began to chase the vehicle at speeds up to 65 mph but eventually lost sight of the vehicle and ended the pursuit.
According to the complaint, Zamora called deputies around 8 p.m. that night and admitted he was driving during the pursuit and apologized for fleeing. He also told deputies he was not driving recklessly earlier that morning and the driver of the other vehicle attempted to ram the back of his SUV. According to the complaint, he told deputies he was aware of his warrant and would turn himself in, which he did not do. Another warrant was issued for his arrest.
According to a second criminal complaint filed Sept. 17, around 1:15 p.m. Sept. 13, TCSO deputies identified Zamora driving the same SUV on Highway 55. Deputies say he had a female passenger in the vehicle. According to the complaint, at least two TCSO deputies followed Zamora’s vehicle at speeds over 80 mph “through several different dirt roads, through stop signs, and recklessly passing vehicles without any regard for the safety of the occupants, drivers, pedestrians, or law enforcement for an estimated distance 10 miles or more.” The complaint says Zamora passed two vehicles and a pedestrian during the chase.
According to the complaint, Zamora then drove his SUV through the desert “no longer on any sort of road.” Deputies say they followed tire tracks and found a woman walking through the desert who was later identified as Zamora’s passenger. According to the complaint, she was detained and arrested on an outstanding warrant.
TCSO deputies located the SUV in a ravine and “the front windshield was shattered, and the front left wheel was riding on a rim with nearly all the rubber from the tire missing.” Deputies say they saw footprints leading away from the vehicle. According to the complaint, deputies allowed the female passenger to use their public address system to convince Zamora to return to the scene of the crash but he did not. The female passenger was transported to a detention center.
Zamora was charged with two counts of aggravated fleeing, one count of reckless driving and one count of driving on a revoked license in connection with the two pursuits.
The Independent reached out to TCSO about Zamora’s current status but did not hear back as of press time.
The Independent reached out to the CoreCivic Detention Center in Torrance County to determine whether Zamora had been booked and did not hear back as of press time.
