Police: Santa Fe man arrested after warning shot

A 45-year-old Santa Fe man was arrested Sunday after confronting someone he thought was trying to burglarize cars, then firing a gunshot into the ground in an apparent attempt to keep the man from fleeing.

Police charged Jeffrey Hurtado, with a count of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of negligent use of a firearm, Deputy Police Chief Ben Valdez said.

“We think he was trying to do the right thing,” Valdez said. “But we do have to enforce the law.”

Valdez said Hurtado saw a man looking into windows of vehicles parked on Camino Jacobo near Airport Road in the early afternoon.

“He said it looked like the guy was looking into car windows,” Valdez said.

After confronting the man, Hurtado said he told him him to stay until police arrived. The man began to run away and Hurtado fired his gun into the ground.

Police later recovered the gun and a spent shell near the area, Valdez said.