CRIME

Suspect taken into custody after San Juan County sheriff's deputy fires at her vehicle

Mike Easterling
Farmington Daily Times

FARMINGTON — A woman who allegedly tried to flee repeatedly from a San Juan County sheriff’s deputy was apprehended last weekend after the deputy fired a shot at her car.

The driver was identified as 29-year-old Lacy Shay Gomez.

The incident took place early on Jan. 21, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office. At 5:01 a.m., a deputy tried to stop a vehicle for driving without its headlights on in the vicinity of East Piñon Street between Broadway Avenue and South Miller Avenue, leading the driver to flee. The deputy located the vehicle again a short time later and attempted to pull it over again, only to have the driver allegedly flee a second time, the release states.

Sheriff’s deputies located the vehicle a third time in the vicinity of East Murray Drive and South Butler Avenue in Farmington, according to the release, leading the driver to finally pull over and stop at 5:07 a.m. But when a deputy began giving Gomez commands, she allegedly reversed her vehicle, striking the deputy’s patrol car.

The deputy responded by firing once at Gomez’s car as she tried to flee the scene again, only to have her way blocked by additional sheriff’s deputies’ vehicles, the release states. She was taken into custody without further incident. The shot fired by the deputy struck the vehicle, according to a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, but there were no injuries reported.

The deputy who fired the shot, whose name is being withheld by the Sheriff’s Office, has been placed on administrative leave under agency policy while the San Juan County Regional Officer Involved Task Force investigates the incident.

Gomez faces five counts under a range of charges, according to the Sheriff’s Office, including aggravated battery on a peace officer (deadly weapon) and aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer (no injury or great bodily harm). The first charge is a third-degree felony, while the second charge is a fourth-degree felony.

She also has been cited for driving without her headlights illuminated, failure to provide proof of insurance and having an expired registration.

Anyone who has information about the incident is asked to call the Farmington Police Department, the primary investigating agency, at 505-599-1068.

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