Man arrested in connection with Chamita shooting faces new charges
May 14—An Española man who was implicated in a deadly shooting near Chamita is being held on a slew of drug charges.
Mario Valdez, 31, is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm; five counts of drug trafficking; and resisting, evading or obstructing an arrest, according to an arrest warrant filed in Rio Arriba County Magistrate Court earlier this week.
State police found 14 pills believed to be fentanyl, 35.3 grams of suspected heroin, 47.8 grams of suspected methamphetamine and 25.3 grams of suspected cocaine when they arrested Valdez in April in an unrelated case, according to the affidavit.
Investigators also found a Smith & Wesson .44-caliber Magnum revolver and Arminius .22-caliber Magnum revolver in his backpack.
Valdez is a "known narcotics dealer" in the community, the affidavit states.
He and his father, 50-year-old Andrew Valdez, were charged in a March 11 shooting near Chamita that killed 35-year-old Fernando Martinez and wounded three others. But prosecutors dismissed a murder charge and other felony counts against Mario Valdez earlier this week because of a lack of evidence.
