Santa Fe police chief calls for change after reckless driver, shooting incident

SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A 21-year-old is behind bars after he’s accused of fleeing from police in a stolen car, causing chaos across Santa Fe, drawing gunfire from officers, and forcing the cancellation of a popular community festival.

Santa Fe Police Department Chief Paul Joye said his officers are working to arrest people and get them off the street but are frustrated that repeat offenders keep being let out.

“The shooting at Sonic was a repeat offender. The shooting at Best Buy was a very violent person who never should have been out,” he said, “and here we have again, another person who is very early in his adulthood that is a violent person with a history and shouldn’t have been out on the streets.”

The suspect, 21-year-old Justin Jimenez , was stopped by police twice for being suspected of being in a stolen car.

Police claimed he fled both times before officers finally caught up to him and opened fire three times near the plaza. It shut down fiesta celebrations there; Jimenez is in custody, and no members of the public were injured.

However, the incident left the community shaken, and Joye said there needs to be change.

“This is a discussion that needs to be had at the state level with our state legislature and leadership and with the courts and what needs to be done to keep these folks who have established that they have a history and have established that they are repeat offenders, what needs to be done to keep these people behind bars.”

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Court records show Jimenez pleaded guilty to an attempted auto burglary in July, but his one-year sentence was suspended, meaning he did not have to serve any jail time and was back on the streets.

New Mexico State Police is investigating the police shootings. They are not releasing any more information at this time.

According to the Santa Fe police, Jimenez was known to the department and had an extensive criminal history, including burglary, stealing cars, and assault.

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