Four people were arrested around the Las Campanas neighborhood Monday afternoon after leading ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe County sheriff’s deputies on multiple chases in stolen vehicles and on foot, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Deputies said some of them were involved in a shoplifting incident in Eldorado on Saturday and had evaded officers in a stolen 12-passenger van owned by the city of ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe.
John Flores, Martin Flores, Michael Flores and Erin Stephenson, all of ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe, were arrested near an arroyo where officers say they had abandoned the van. Deputies detained another woman who admitted to being in the van during the chase but she was not charged with any crimes as of Tuesday.
The four were booked into ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe County jail Monday evening.
Court files detail chases
Affidavits filed by deputies in the criminal cases allege Michael Flores was driving a stolen Ford van with at least the other three suspects inside. Police allege Michael Flores fled from deputies “at a high rate of speed throughout the entire Las Campanas subdivision†and then onto “extreme terrain†in the area.
The van became stuck in an arroyo, and deputies and New Mexico State Police officers found Stephenson and the other suspects in the surrounding area, according to the affidavits. Investigators wrote they matched the boots Stephenson was wearing to imprints in the ground around the van where it was left.
Stephenson, 35, faces charges of receiving or transferring stolen motor vehicles, conspiracy and resisting officers, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.
Martin Flores, 33, was charged with receiving or transferring stolen motor vehicles, according to a complaint filed against him.
Michael Flores, 36, faces a felony charge of aggravated shoplifting in the Saturday incident at an Eldorado grocery store. Deputies said he was identified in surveillance videos shoplifting and attacking employees at Eldorado Supermarket two days beforehand.
The affidavit says Michael Flores and another man were stealing bottles of liquor at the store, and, after two employees confronted them, they struck them with the bottles as well as a grocery basket before taking off in the van.
A manager at the store was bleeding heavily from the side of his head when deputies arrived to the scene, the affidavit says. Investigators wrote they took images from the store’s surveillance video and ran them through Pojoaque Police Department’s facial recognition software, which identified the suspect as Michael Flores.
A witness noted the van had a decal on the side, deputies wrote in the affidavit. A city spokesperson did not answer questions Tuesday about the van, including when and how it was stolen.
Deputies again spotted the van Monday afternoon at Paseo de River, after officers had chased the driver several times over the previous two days, the affidavit states. Deputies chased the van to the Las Campanas area, but the driver evaded them on back roads off of Forest Road 24 before the vehicle became stuck in an arroyo.
Shortly after 3 p.m., deputies came upon a camper on Bureau of Land Management land where Michael Flores appeared to be living with a girlfriend, officers wrote, as well as a stolen red Ford Ranger.
Police wrote the Ford Ranger “immediately sped away as patrol deputies and detectives approached the property.â€
Deputies chased John Flores, 38, in the Ranger for about 10 minutes before the vehicle was seen empty on Wildhorse Drive, the statement says. After searching the area, deputies found John Flores on the roof of a house and arrested him “without further incident,†police wrote.
John Flores, a brother of Michael and Martin Flores, faces charges of resisting officers, receiving or transferring stolen motor vehicles and aggravated fleeing from law enforcement officers.
·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Womack-Avila said Tuesday no officers were injured during the incidents.
Brothers accused in jail drug ring
Michael, Martin and John Flores have all been accused of smuggling drugs into ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe County jail in recent years.
Martin Flores was accused in April 2023 of leading a drug ring that smuggled suboxone strips — a medication used to treat opioid addiction — into the jail with the help of one of the guards. He faces pending charges in the case, including bribing a public employee, distribution of a controlled substance and conspiracy. A trial is scheduled to begin in May, unless he takes a plea deal by the end of April.
Michael Flores faces felony charges in another alleged methamphetamine and suboxone ring at the jail in summer 2024. A Tuesday court filing in the pending case noted he has not complied with court-ordered reporting requirements and has failed to appear in court several times.
John Flores in the last year has faced charges of battery, three counts of receiving or transferring motor vehicles, bringing contraband into jail and drug possession, in three criminal cases that were all dismissed by prosecutors without prejudice — meaning the charges could be refiled. Notices of dismissal filed by prosecutors in two of the cases note the charges were dropped “pending further investigation.†The charges — from January and October 2024 — have not been refiled, online court records show.
John Flores also faces pending charges of receiving or transferring stolen motor vehicles and receiving stolen property from earlier this month.