Chase leads to arrest

Police arrested a Portales man Wednesday evening after a woman said she’d been held captive for more than a day.

George Vela, 27, is charged with kidnapping, criminal sexual penetration and being a felon in possession of a firearm, officials said.

He was arrested about 8:30 p.m. inside the emergency room at Roosevelt General Hospital, where he fled following a chase with police, Capt. Lonnie Berry said.

Police received a call about 1 p.m. Wednesday from a 19-year-old woman who said she had been held captive in a residence in the 1300 block of South Avenue H in Portales.

The woman identified her captor and told police he’d gone to the store for cigarettes, Berry said.

Vela was then seen in a vehicle near the intersection of 18th and Avenue I in Portales. After a brief car chase, police said Vela exited the vehicle and ran from police.

Berry said Vela ran inside the hospital’s emergency room, where officers arrested him.

Vela was being held in the Roosevelt County Detention Center on $500,000 bond.

Berry said the pursuit involved two patrol officers and one detective along with one Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office deputy.