Off-duty deputy arrested at bar
Sheriff’s office puts Lujan on leave
Santa Fe police arrested an off-duty Santa Fe County sheriff ’s deputy outside a bar early Tuesday morning, alleging he had acted aggressively toward an officer, called officers names and resisted officers who tried to handcuff him.
Jose “J.D.” Lujan was booked into the Santa Fe County jail on suspicion of two counts of resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, according to a criminal complaint provided by police. Juan Ríos, a spokesman for the sheriff ’s office, said Lujan has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
Police responded to a call about a fight at Boxcar, a bar and grill on South Guadalupe Street, around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.
When officers arrived, Lujan and sheriff ’s Sgt. James Yeager — who both work in the Criminal Investigations Division, according to Ríos — were outside the building, the criminal complaint says.
Employees and security guards at Boxcar told police Lujan and Yeager had been fighting, reports of the incident say. The deputies
disputed that account, however. Yeager told officers that Lujan had been fighting with another man who had run away.
Police were speaking with witnesses at the scene, the criminal complaint says, when Lujan approached one officer and tried to get his attention.
An officer told Lujan to wait, the complaint says, and Lujan stared in “a angry manner … and appeared to be ‘sizing up’ ” the officer.
Police decided to handcuff Lujan, the complaint says, but Lujan resisted, pulling his hands in front of his body so the officers couldn’t put the cuffs on him. Officers forced Lujan to the ground and managed to handcuff him, the complaint says, but as they tried to put him in a police car, Lujan kept struggling and calling them names.
Lujan called officers derogatory names and told one officer he was a “rookie,” reports say.
The criminal complaint says Lujan “showed signs of heavy alcohol intoxication, as he had slurred speech, blood shot watery eyes, a strong odor of an intoxicated beverage emitting from his person, and was unsteady on his feet.”
Lujan has been with the sheriff ’s office since 2012, Ríos said, adding that Lujan was off duty when he was arrested.
Ríos refused to say whether Lujan had been placed on leave in the past, citing confidentiality in personnel matters.
Lujan was released from jail Tuesday afternoon on his personal recognizance, inmate logs show.
Yeager, who was not arrested, has been put on desk duty during the internal investigation, Ríos said, meaning he won’t have any interactions with the public. Desk duty isn’t necessarily a punishment but is standard procedure when sheriff ’s employees are involved in an internal investigation, he said.
Yeager declined to comment.