A New Mexico woman was arrested after authorities say she caused a crash that killed an officer and retired firefighter and then lied about having been kidnapped. Jeannine Jaramillo, 46, faces charges including two counts of first-degree murder, authorities said Saturday. After a pursuit, the crash Wednesday on Interstate 25 near Santa Fe killed officer Robert Duran, 43, and Frank Lovato, 62. Lovato was a retired firefighter from the northern New Mexico city of Las Vegas, the AP reports, who was driving a pickup truck and was not involved with the pursuit.
Jaramillo had initially said she had been carjacked at knifepoint, authorities said, and she was released after being treated at a hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening. She was arrested Saturday, according to a New Mexico State Police news release, after evidence submitted to a lab Friday showed she was the sole driver of the stolen vehicle involved in the crash. DNA found on the airbag belonged to Jaramillo, and evidence showed there was only one person inside at the time of the crash, New Mexico State Police said. Search warrant affidavits filed to seek DNA and evidence from Jaramillo's cellphone said a police officer saw a woman get out of Jaramillo's car but not anyone else, news outlets reported.
Jaramillo 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 believe the arrest of Jeannine Jaramillo has made our community safer," said Tim Johnson, chief of the New Mexico State Police. "Her actions put the entire public in danger and took the lives of two dedicated public servants." Police had said after the crash they were searching for a suspect described by Jaramillo as a man she'd dated briefly who she said had abducted her from an apartment complex following an argument.
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