Grand jury indicts suspects in chase
Couple faces dozens of charges, including killing retired officer
LAS CRUCES - A Doña Ana County grand jury has indicted the suspects who were arrested last month after a high-speed chase that resulted in the death of a retired Las Cruces police officer.
Daniel Lowell, 34, and Trista Schlaefli, 32, both of Pueblo, Colo., were indicted Thursday on dozens of charges in connection to the Nov. 27 death of 61-year-old J.R. Stewart and a related crime spree, according to indictments filed on Friday.
Stewart, who retired from the Las Cruces Police Department in 2014 after 35 years as a patrol officer, was riding a motorcycle when authorities say he was hit by a stolen SUV fleeing police.
Investigators say Lowell and Schlaefli, both fugitives wanted in Colorado, were driving the SUV that crashed into Stewart, who was pronounced dead at a Las Cruces hospital.
Lowell is facing 46 charges, including various counts of vehicular homicide, armed robbery, child abuse, aggravated fleeing law enforcement and others. He also faces more than a dozen conspiracy charges.
Schlaefli is facing a total of 33 similar charges, including vehicular homicide.
According to the indictments, Lowell and Schlaefli fled from the Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 10 west of Las Cruces in a pickup that had a license plate reported stolen out of Colorado. Agents had directed the vehicle to secondary inspection, but instead it fled west, sparking the first of two high-speed chases with multiple law enforcement agencies.
During the initial pursuit, Lowell and Schlaefli allegedly carjacked an SUV from a family of four at gunpoint, according to court records.
The SUV was then spotted in Las Cruces around 5:15 p.m. and a second vehicle pursuit ensued, court documents state.
Lowell’s indictment alleges he drove recklessly at high speeds during the pursuit, hitting a parked vehicle on Solano Drive and later striking Stewart who was riding a motorcycle on Las Alturas Drive.
Afterward, Lowell and Schlaefli allegedly tried to carjack a second vehicle from two males, but were detained by authorities after a brief foot pursuit.
During questioning with police, Lowell admitted he was driving the SUV that struck Stewart, and said he and Schlaefli been smoking meth and heroin before the crash, according to the indictment.
Earlier this month, District Attorney Mark D’Antonio characterized the incident as a “drug-fueled Bonnie and Clyde rampage.”
Lowell and Schlaefli have been scheduled to appear for arraignment on Dec. 26 in 3rd Judicial District Court. They remain in custody at the Doña Ana County Detention Center on no-bond holds. No trial dates have been scheduled.