Crime Stoppers offers $1K reward for info, capture of fugitive Black
Santa Fe Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who provides information that leads to the capture of a man who has eluded police since last month, when he was accused of firing shots at a Rio Arriba County sheriff ’s deputy and a state officer in separate incidents.
According to a news release issued Tuesday by the New Mexico State Police, the agency believes 32-year-old Johnny Black of Pojoaque is somewhere near Santa Fe or Española, where some residents are calling the fugitive a “legend.”
State police issued warrants in late June charging Black with intent to commit a violent felony on a police officer, shooting from a motor vehicle, aggravated fleeing from a police officer, residential burglary and breaking and entering. He is the primary suspect in a June 7 incident in which shots were fired at a Rio Arriba deputy, and he is accused of firing at a state officer who tried to pull him offer for a traffic violation in Española on June 27.
A few days later, Black escaped state police officers attempting to arrest him during a sting operation in Chimayó, reportedly fleeing on foot. The agency sent out a Twitter alert June 30 saying state police “aircraft and tactical units are in the area searching for Johnny Black, who is considered armed and dangerous. Roadblocks on specific roads are being set up. Be prepared to stop.”
While officers failed to capture Black, they arrested three people at a Chimayó home — Kenneth Martinez, 63; Alfonso Guerrero, 21; and
Roseann Rivera, 28 — on suspicion of harboring the man.
Rivera told police that Black had threatened to kill her if she told them where he was hiding.
Since then, the state agency has been quiet about its search for Black, leading some residents in Santa Fe and Española to believe officers were searching for him in operations earlier this month in their neighborhoods.
State police and Santa Fe SWAT officers seeking an unnamed suspect closed streets on Santa Fe’s south side July 2 and surrounded an apartment complex. Students in summer programs at several schools in the area spent the day under a shelter-in-place order. A neighbor told The New Mexican she believed police were searching for Black. But neither law enforcement agency would confirm or deny that.
Española residents posted comments on the Española Valley Gossip Facebook page saying they thought a state police operation in that city Saturday night was tied to the search for Black.
Some of the Facebook posters said police helicopters were flying overhead and that they had heard gunshots.
Officer Ray Wilson, a state police spokesman, told The New Mexican in an email Monday that no arrests were made in the Española operation, and that he couldn’t provide any other information.
Some commenters on the Facebook page said they consider Black a “legend.” Others urged residents to keep their doors locked while he remains on the loose.
Black is described as 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He has a “Death Before Dishonor” tattoo on his chest and two large lions heads tattooed on the left side of his neck. He also has tattoos on his right leg, left shoulder and right shoulder, as well as scars on his ankle, left shoulder and right shoulder.
Police say anyone who encounters him should call 911 and steer clear of him.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts can contact the Santa Fe Crime Stoppers at 505955-5050 or visit www.santa fecrimestoppers.org. Callers can remain anonymous.