By Roger Lanse

A criminal complaint was filed on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, in Magistrate Court, against Jonathan A. Jones, 43, whose address is listed as 2708 Cardenas Drive NE, Albuquerque, charging him with unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, false imprisonment, aggravated fleeing from law enforcement, aggravated assault against a peace officer, and driving with an invalid or revoked license.

Officers were dispatched to the Silver City Beverage Company (2005 E. Highway 180) at about 9:35 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in reference to a stolen vehicle. The caller, Nathan Salas, advised that somebody stole his Coors Light semi-truck and headed west on Highway 180 toward McDonald's.

According to a statement of probable cause, officers attempted to stop the white semi-truck, later identified as a white 2017 Freightliner pulling a white 2006 cargo trailer. Jones started to turn left onto Highway 90 at the intersection of Highways 90 and 180 but instead made a right hand turn from the left turn lane almost striking a SCPD patrol car, which had to shift into reverse to avoid being hit. Jones then turned right from Silver Heights Blvd onto W. Highway 180, making a U-turn at the intersection of Little Walnut Road and traveling back east on Highway 180 at 40 mph.

The statement continued that Jones then turned right on Hudson Street traveling south exceeding speeds of 40 mph and running red lights at 12th Street, College Avenue, and Broadway. Officers cleared intersections to prevent any vehicles from being hit by the speeding truck.

Jones continued south on Highway 90, the statement said, exceeding speeds of 65 mph, when he slowed to 35 mph at the city limits but continued south, not stopping. At this point New Mexico State Police officers became involved and set up spike strips which Jones ran over on the passenger side of the truck. Jones passed MM 31 (1 mile north of the Tyrone Mine turnoff) at a speed of 75 mph almost losing control of the vehicle at MM 29.

Jones began to lose speed due to the deflating of the passenger side tires and came to a stop just south of MM 27 (Cullum Road), where SCPD officers got Jones to exit the truck, placed him under arrest and transported him to SCPD for paperwork. At SCPD, the statement said, officers were advised that the cargo in the truck and trailer was valued at $10,217 and that Salas was in the trailer when Jones first stole the vehicle and had to jump out of the cargo trailer to avoid being injured and taken against his will. Jones stated to officers, according to the statement of probable cause, that he was trying to get to Tucson to visit friends and that he is homeless.

According to an Albuquerque probation officer, the statement said, Jones is an absconder and was supposed to turn himself in but he did not.

After paperwork was complete at SCPD, Jones was transported to the Grant County Detention Center for booking. According to GCDC staff, Jones was in custody as of this afternoon (Tuesday, Oct. 20) bond to be set.

One witness this writer spoke to stated he was at the Silver City Post Office when the beer truck went by being chased by officers, and said he knew something was wrong when he saw that the doors on the back of the trailer were open. Another witness said she almost pulled out from a side street into the path of the barreling beer truck.