A wild car chase through Santa Fe on Tuesday ended with the rescue of two potential kidnapping victims.
Santa Fe Police received a welfare check call just after 8 am, concerning someone possibly trapped in the back of a U-Haul moving truck and banging on the door to get out. The initial report was from Richards Avenue near Mission Bend. The calling party told Dispatch the moving truck was traveling east on Rodeo Road towards Old Pecos Trail. This information was relayed to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and a deputy located the vehicle near El Gancho and attempted to contact the driver, later identified as Stacy Walker, 50, of Santa Fe. Walker fled the deputy and returned to the city limits.
Santa Fe Police located the moving truck and attempted a traffic stop at St. Michaels Drive and Pacheco Street. The suspect ran a red light at St. Michaels Drive and Fifth Street. SFPD officers did not initiate a pursuit, but began driving erratically at the sight of cruisers. SFPD followed up to make contact with the reporting party to gather additional information as they followed the U-Haul from a distance. Once the caller confirmed hearing someone pounding on the roll-up door from the inside, additional police resources were summoned to assist.
Once the chase was on, the Drone Team tracked the vehicle, and sheriff's deputies staged Stop Stick tire deflation devices to slow down the truck. Despite flat tires. Walker continued to flee, at times traveling into the lanes of oncoming traffic on Highway 14 as he traveled back towards the city. New Mexico State Police arrived in the area to assist with bringing Mr. Walker’s vehicle to a stop. His flight from law enforcement continued onto Cerrillos Road with most of the tires deflated until he traveled off the roadway onto the sidewalk near the intersection of Herrera Drive and Cerrillos.
Walker refused to exit the truck despite police commands. After an SFPD Detective deployed a less lethal impact munition to break the driver side window, Walker exited the truck, initially with his hands up. Walker refused to comply with instructions to be taken into custody so a detective deployed a less lethal impact munition, striking Mr. Walker on his left thigh. Walker then complied with instructions and was taken into custody without further incident.
Upon further inspection of the truck, law enforcement found two adults in the back storage area, a man and woman. Paramedics were summoned to the scene to evaluate them for injuries while detectives conducted interviews. The man reported an injury to his back sustained being tossed around the back of the moving truck. Both victims told detectives they were helping Walker clean the back of the moving truck when he suddenly slammed the rear door down with them in the back and locked them in. Neither said they consented to being locking in the back of the moving truck.
Walker was taken to a local hospital, then booked into the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center. He is charged by both SFPD and SFSO with:
- Kidnapping (1st Degree), 2 Counts
- Aggravated Assault Upon a Peace Officer (Deadly Weapon)
- Aggravated Fleeing a Law Enforcement Officer
- Aggravated Assault Upon a Peace Officer (Deadly Weapon)
- Aggravated Fleeing a Law Enforcement Officer
- Leaving the scene of an accident involving damage to vehicle
- Limitation on backing
Walker also was booked on two active arrest warrants; Failure to Appear in Santa Fe Magistrate Court for Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card and Failure to Appear in Santa Fe Municipal Court for a Criminal Trespass. His criminal history includes charges for:
- Abuse of a Child
- Conspiracy to Commit Abuse of a Child
- Tampering with Evidence (Felony)
- Attempt to Commit a Felony, to wit: Forgery ($2,500 or less)
