GRANTS, N.M. – Grants Police Chief Maxine Monte addressed a violent crime spree that began with a fatal shooting and carjacking at Sky City Casino on the Acoma Pueblo ended in a shootout on I-40 late on Feb. 1.
She announced that she had not previously spoken about this incident to maintain the integrity of the New Mexico State Police’s investigation, which is still ongoing.
Chief Monte shared the details of Grants Police Department’s involvement at the Grants City Council meeting on February 19.
Grants Police Officers Assist CCSO During Shootout
On February 1, around 10:39 p.m., police officers were alerted to be on the lookout for a stolen car.
A car was hijacked and a female shot at the Sky City Travel Center, with an alert issued for the woman’s car. The Acoma police department were quick to respond and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. However, the suspect was able to flee. This led to a pursuit westbound towards Grants. By this time, the Grants police joined, setting up stop sticks at the 85-mile marker, which were unsuccessful.
It was around the 89mile marker that the suspect and another vehicle crashed into each other.
The suspect exited his vehicle and began to shoot at responding officers, who were prepared to arrest him. Multiple shots were fired, and the police were prompted to shoot as well, needing to deal with this threat. Though none of the officers were reported injured, a Cibola County Sheriff’s Office vehicle was hit; the suspect was shot.
First responders immediately rendered first aid to the suspect, who suffered from a gunshot shot wound. He was later taken to Cibola general hospital.
Chief Monte explained that New Mexico State police is currently investigating this shooting, which, when finished, will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office.
Though this incident is still under investigation, the suspect has been incarcerated, due to the New Mexico State police formally charging the suspect with the following: assault with intent to commit a violent felony on a police officer, two counts of aggravated assault upon a peace officer, two counts of aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer, shooting at or from a motor vehicle possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
This incident is still under investigation. The murder occurred on tribal lands and is currently being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who have not released any information; the Cibola Citizen has issued a request for information from the FBI.
Grants Police Department confirmed to the city council that the female victim who was shot by the suspect and had her vehicle stolen, is deceased due to the gunshot. Chief Monte said “My deepest condolences go out to the victim’s family during this tragic incident.”
Police Department Data
Data from the year 2024, was brought up and presented. This data includes the amount citations, incidents, and reports.
Citations: 2024 January 103 February 56 March 43 April 52 May 59 June 36 (least) July 61 August 64 September 59 October 42 November 49 December 131 (most) Total: 755 Arrests: 2024 January 57 February 45 March 57 April 38 (least) May 54 June 62 July 70 (most) August 53 September 44 October 52 November 60 December 48 Total: 640 Incidents, being anything dispatch was called for 2024, included: January 1,134 February 957 March 978 April 1,017 May 1,134 June 1,108 July 1,110 August 1,280 (most) September 1,061 October 1,004 November 951 (least) December 992 Total: 12,726 Reports (Cases) 2024: January 115 February 102 March 134 April 119 May 133 June 141 (most) July 102 August 107 September 98 October 112 November 117 December 96 (least) Total: 1,376 These numbers, according to the chief and lieutenants, are high. It is when the numbers are low that GPD gets worried, knowing that it will increase again.
Despite being understaffed and having to multi-task, the officers have been able to deal with the high number of incidents which have occurred the past year, Chief Monte said this proves GPD is still able to get things done.
The department recently hired a certified officer and will soon have a few more. These new officers will be finishing their time in the academy soon and will spend a few weeks with a field training officer, before going on to work as the other officers do.
In July, GPD hopes to send more hires to the academy, meaning they would be ready to work fully by October.
Contract Renewal
The Flock safety renewal contract was approved.
This two-year contract, equaling $24,000, concerns four license plate readers. The license plate readers continuously scan every vehicle that drives by. If there is a missing, stolen, or a vehicle that is being searched for, it will send the officers an alert, allowing them to respond quickly. The information provided by this system is limited to the police officers and is automatically deleted within thirty days.
Chief Monte said the Flock camera system has helped GPD be successful several times in the past, and will hopefully continue to do so.