Jeannine Jaramillo Wiki – Jeannine Jaramillo Biography
Jeannine Jaramillo, a New Mexico woman, was arrested after authorities said she caused a crash that killed an officer and a retired firefighter and then lied about being kidnapped.
Jeannine Jaramillo faces charges including two counts of first-degree murder, authorities said at a news conference Saturday. After a pursuit, Wednesday’s crash on Interstate 25 near Santa Fe killed Officer Robert Duran, 43, and Frank Lovato, 62. Lovato was a retired firefighter from the northern city of Las Vegas. of New Mexico, who was driving a pickup truck and was not involved in the pursuit.
Jeannine Jaramillo Age
Jeannine Jaramillo is 46 years old.
Charged – Arrested
Jaramillo had initially said she had been kidnapped at knifepoint, according to authorities, and was released after being treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
She was arrested Saturday, New Mexico State Police said after evidence sent to a lab Friday showed she was the only driver of the stolen vehicle involved in the crash.
DNA found in the airbag belonged to Jaramillo and evidence showed there was only one person inside at the time of the crash, according to New Mexico State Police.
Search warrant affidavits filed to search for DNA and evidence from Jaramillo’s cell phone say a police officer saw a woman get out of Jaramillo’s car but not another person, news outlets reported Friday.
“She caused a senseless tragedy that has impacted the community of Santa Fe, Las Vegas, and all of New Mexico, and the pain her actions have caused will not be erased by this arrest alone. There will be lasting consequences,” the state of New Mexico said. Deputy Police Chief Carolyn Huynh said, reports KRQE-TV.
She also faces charges of reckless homicide by vehicle, receiving and transferring a stolen vehicle, and tampering with evidence, according to the Santa Fe District Attorney’s office.
“I think the arrest of Jeannine Jaramillo has made our community safer,” said New Mexico State Police Chief Tim Johnson. “Her actions of hers endangered the entire public and claimed the lives of two dedicated public servants.”
Police had said after the crash that they were looking for a suspect described by Jaramillo as a man she had briefly dated who had kidnapped her from an apartment complex after an argument. But authorities said her story was “suspiciously similar” to her statement in a September 2021 case, when she reported that a man held her against her will with a knife to her neck and hid on the floor.
She was charged at the time with receiving a stolen vehicle, aggravated flight, and possession of methamphetamine, authorities said.
KOB-TV and other media outlets reported that court documents said Jaramillo was twice previously involved in pursuits in Cibola County in September and October. She had told officers that she had been kidnapped, but no one else was found.
Prosecutors dismissed both cases “pending further investigation.”
Jaramillo had told KOB-TV on Friday that she was kidnapped, she feared for her life and she did not see the man get out of his crashed car because she briefly fainted.
“I crawled out the driver’s side window, I fell on the ground and I looked up and there was the police, and I just ran for my life, and I was screaming, ‘Help me,'” Jaramillo said. “I’m crying, I was hysterical, I was in shock.”
Jaramillo had said that she was wrong to suggest that she was alone in the car.
“I think people should understand that when you’re involved in a situation like that, I don’t think it’s right for them to say things that have their opinion, like that, until they’re in a situation like that themselves,” Jaramillo said.
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