Deputies led on chase

STAFF REPORT

Two Portales residents are in the hospital after a police chase involving Roosevelt County Sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday morning.

Irisema Hernandez, 33, was one of 11 people arrested in April on narcotics charges when sheriff’s deputies seized 116 grams of crystal methamphetamines from a county residence, officials said.

Hernandez was on house arrest due to the drug charges, which included two counts of drug trafficking and one count of accessory, all first-degree felonies.

A Wednesday press release from the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office said sheriff’s deputies made contact with Hernandez at a hotel on U.S. 70 Wednesday morning for violation of her bond.

“When confronted in the white Lincoln, the driver, Eduardo Lopez, 23, accelerated the vehicle and struck one of the deputies as he was fleeing,” the release said.

When deputies attempted to stop the vehicle using spikes, Lopez swerved to miss the spikes and lost control of the vehicle, striking a tree at the intersection of Roosevelt Road U and New Mexico 267.

The pursuit lasted five minutes for eight miles, the release said.

Hernandez and Lopez were transported to Roosevelt General Hospital for injuries sustained in the crash and later transferred to a Lubbock hospital, where they remain in serious condition. The deputy who was struck by the vehicle did not require treatment, according to Sheriff Malin Parker.

The release said more heroin was recovered from the incident and Hernancez could face more charges.

Parker declined to say where the heroin was found and how much, saying it was “packaging that would be consistent with trafficking.”

Parker said deputies followed safe pursuit guidelines during the chase.