Costilla man faces five felony assault charges after incident
TAOS — Andrew Bernard Mott, a 58-year-old Costilla resident accused of assaulting an off-duty New Mexico state police officer and his family with a firearm last month, was arraigned earlier this week in the Taos County Magistrate Court on five felony assault charges.
According to an arrest warrant, the off-duty state police officer, his wife and other family members were driving down a county road near Mott’s home March 11, when Mott allegedly got out of his vehicle, threatened them and demanded they leave.
Police say he then pointed a firearm at the officer’s son, who was driving, and fired at least one shot over the top of the family’s vehicle.
Mott’s arrest Monday — planned as a “discreet” state police special operation, according to officials — sparked rumors throughout Taos County as a convoy of black armored vehicles transported heavily armed officers and tactical equipment through the town, startling observers as it made its way north to a residence near Top of the World Farm in Costilla, just south of the Colorado border.
As the officers took up positions, Lt. Edwardo Martinez, commander of the state police agency’s Taos District, contacted Mott via telephone.
“I asked him to come out of the residence, which was our number one goal,” Martinez told The Taos News. “He refused, so I asked him if he would come meet us at the gas station down the road. Again, he refused. Finally, I asked him if he would come meet me in the roadway, and he agreed.”
Mott had just started down the dirt track when he was surrounded by officers, who took him into custody without incident.
The Taos News has requested a cost estimate for the operation, but a dollar amount was not provided by press time.
“When someone has used a firearm against someone,” Martinez said, “it is our policy to use the resources at our disposal to keep our officers safe. All it takes is one officer getting injured or killed. Our lives are more important than money.”
State police searched Mott’s residence Monday and discovered spent shell casings and ammunition, which they will compare with a .45-caliber shell casing found at the scene.
Firearms, however, were not found during the search.
Martinez said Mott had a violent criminal history. “He had used firearms in at least two other incidents — one was a domestic back in 2014 and another was an incident in 2016,” Martinez said. “We also found out that he has a criminal history in several other states.”
An initial search of the New Mexico courts online database did not show any prior cases for Mott.
Mott is being held in the Taos County jail on a $140,000 cashonly bond.