Robert Marquez, a wanted violent felon known to sell and abuse drugs, led Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office personnel on a 25-mile car chase reaching speeds of 105 mph on Nov. 29.
A deputy and detective pursued Marquez, 37, eastbound from a home on the 20000 block of County Road N, northbound on County Roads 29 and 30 and then eastbound on Colorado Highway 184, ending on East Sunset Drive in Mancos, where Marquez was apprehended. He faces five felony charges.
Sheriff Steve Nowlin said no one was injured during the chase. With two emergency vehicles behind him, Marquez drove at speeds between 70 and 90 mph and ran several stop signs on county roads and then increased his speed to 105 mph on Colorado Highway 184 from Dolores to Mancos. He drove on the wrong side of the road at times, a deputy’s report said.
“He was driving in a very reckless manner,” Nowlin said.
According to Sheriff’s Office incident report, a department-wide email was sent out to staff earlier on Nov. 29 informing all officers that Marquez was known to be in Cortez. Nowlin said deputies had received tips from residents regarding Marquez’s arrival in Cortez.
Marquez had an active felony warrant for parole violation in El Paso County. He was known to have violent tendencies According to the incident report, and deputies believed he might have been armed and wearing body armor. Marquez was also believed to be a member of the SUR 13 gang, loosely affiliated groups that pay tribute to the Mexican Mafia while in prison.
Hours after the departmental email was sent, deputies at 11 p.m. on Nov. 29 apprehended two woman with a plastic bag of a white crystal substance in plain view on the passenger side floorboard of a red Dodge Ram pickup at City Market.
According to the incident report, Marquez is known as “Beaver.” One of the women, Mary Wall, 57, said she received the drugs from a man named Beaver, and the second woman, Sheila Randolph, 46, said he was staying at their residence on County Road N and driving a white 2018 Ford Focus.
A detective and a deputy then attempted to locate the vehicle. Marquez was observed exiting the home on County Road N. He then drove the Ford Focus eastbound. A detective attempted to stop the car, but Marquez failed to yield and sped off.
Twenty-five miles later, as the chase neared Mancos, two deputies set out stop sticks. The incident report states Marquez saw the two deputies ahead and then turned down East Sunset Drive in Mancos, which is a short, dead-end road. Marquez fled on foot, and two detectives and a deputy then contacted Marquez in a ditch about 75 yards from the road. He was placed in handcuffs.
A search revealed Marquez was carrying a small rubber container of meth and had $460 in his wallet. The 2018 Ford Focus was reported stolen two days earlier, on Nov. 27, by Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Colorado Springs.
Inside the vehicle, authorities found a glass meth pipe, two containers of an unknown “brownish white powdery substance,” a red hammer, multiple small plastic baggies, a bag containing 21.6 grams of marijuana, four cell phones, five syringes and two bags of Epsom salt, which can be used to cut meth. No firearms or body armor were found in the vehicle or on Marquez.
Marquez was booked into the Montezuma County Detention Center and charged with felony parole violation; aggravated motor vehicle theft over $20,000, a Class 4 felony; unlawful possession of controlled substance, a Class 4 drug felony; vehicular eluding, a Class 5 felony; possession of burglary tools, a Class 5 felony; obstructing a peace officer; and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He is scheduled to appear in Montezuma County Court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 12.
Wall, who was arrested with the bag of narcotics at City Market, appeared in court by video from jail on Thursday. She is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, a Class 3 drug felony, and possession of a controlled substance. Montezuma County Judge JenniLynn Lawrence set bond at $25,000 cash or surety.
sdolan@the-journal.com
