How several local law enforcement officers coped with criminal charges | crime

Only one of the cases, involving a DWI charge against an Albuquerque officer, is still awaiting trial.

Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies Adrienne Seay, 43, Daniel Vazquez-Moreno, 29, and Michael Borrecco, 35, were charged with separate off-duty incidents involving alcohol within just over a month.

BCSO spokeswoman Jayme Gonzales said all three are no longer with the agency.

Albuquerque police officers Isaiah Ortiz y Pino, 27, Jordan Hernandez, 25, and Breeyn Arrey, 22, were also charged with various crimes, most of them alcohol-related, between February and July.

APD spokeswoman Rebecca Atkins said Hernandez and Ortiz y Pino are no longer with the department.

She said Arrey, a new recruit, is on administrative leave while APD conducts an internal investigation into allegations that she mistreated her friend – charges that were later dismissed.

The case against Hernandez, who was allegedly pulled over while driving drunk, is still awaiting trial.

Dennis Kenney, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence and mental health issues have historically been a problem for law enforcement throughout their careers.

He said this is often due to strict work schedules and stress from the job, which exacerbates problems in marriage and personal life. Kenney said the number of officers and deputies charged in a short period of time raises questions about the selection process and psychological screening of recruits.

“Most agencies don’t have the ability to recognize when problems are developing and they don’t have meaningful mechanisms in place to respond to and help an officer who has emotional problems or substance abuse problems, both of those problems to merge,” he said.

Kenney said even when resources are available, seeking help can be a problem and seen as “career suicide” for law enforcement.

“The systems are generally designed so that they don’t come forward and don’t seek any help because that then puts them in a difficult position with their agency and can remove them from duty,” he said. “So the ability to get help is pretty limited, and you see the end result of that.”

Additionally, Kenney said, it puts the officer in the awkward position of “coming forward and saying, ‘I’m in trouble.’

“That’s hard to admit for anyone, especially a police officer, and especially in a job that’s largely seen as kind of macho and where you suck it up and deal with the difficult, dangerous things, etc.,” he said.

BCSO spokeswoman Jayme Gonzales said the agency has implemented “a rigorous hiring and vetting process” under Sheriff John Allen, who took office in 2023, and has also increased the resources and support offered to deputies.

“While these standards have consistently been thorough over the past year and a half, we continue to review and adapt our procedures to align with best practices and ensure the highest quality of law enforcement personnel,” Gonzales said.

APD spokeswoman Franchesca Perdue said the department “regularly evaluates” the process of vetting new hires, which includes a leadership review of potential candidates, and she said its officer behavioral health program is already one of the best in the country and is offered to officers. also families.

“It is rare that the department becomes aware of a concerning incident after a candidate has been hired,” she said. “It is always disappointing when an employee fails to meet standards, but APD selects from the general population and inevitably a select few will fail to meet standards.”

APD Chief Harold Medina said in a statement: “Hiring qualified, exceptional candidates as officers is the expectation of the community, and we know it is our responsibility to ensure they are provided with resources as they navigate this sometimes difficult career “Be available so that they can comply with the established standard.”

Here’s what happened to the solved cases involving local law enforcement:

On February 4, Ortiz y Pino allegedly beat up his girlfriend during an argument and left their Rio Rancho home with his daughter. The friend told police that Ortiz y Pino, who previously had a restraining order filed against him by another woman, had come into contact with her “numerous times” and told her he “couldn’t get in trouble with the law.”

After his arrest, APD officers took Ortiz y Pino’s “working firearms” from his home and the girlfriend filed a restraining order against him.

The case against Ortiz y Pino was dismissed without prejudice on May 29, meaning it could be refiled “in the interest of justice.” A spokeswoman for the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said the case was closed because the victim refused to cooperate.

Ortiz y Pino was fired from the APD on July 30.

He declined to comment to the Journal.

On February 12, Vazquez-Moreno was arrested by police in Rio Rancho after he allegedly pushed his girlfriend, also a BCSO deputy, during a Super Bowl party and fled from arriving officers. His blood alcohol level was three times the suspected level of intoxication and he was charged with driving under the influence and assault on a household member.

Vazquez-Moreno’s girlfriend and a mutual friend of the couple, both BCSO deputies who were drunk during the incident, according to court documents, were cited for “conduct unbecoming a deputy” because of the way they treated Rio Rancho police Sent on administrative leave.

Vazquez-Moreno’s girlfriend did not cooperate in the case and the charges against him were dismissed, according to court records. Vazquez-Moreno pleaded guilty Aug. 13 to drunken driving, his first offense.

Court records show he received a deferred sentence and was referred to the Sandoval County DWI program.

Vazquez-Moreno resigned from BCSO on April 3.

Vazquez-Moreno’s attorney, who also represented Seay, did not respond to calls for comment.

APD recruit Breeyn Arrey, recruited in March 2024. On June 13, Arrey was charged with assault and false imprisonment after she allegedly assaulted her friend and refused to let her out of Arrey’s car.

According to court documents, Arrey’s attorney shortly thereafter requested a change to the conditions of her temporary release to allow her contact with the friend because he believed she “desired peaceful contact” with Arrey.

Court records show the case was dismissed July 18 because Arrey was placed in the 2nd Judicial District Pre-Secution Diversion Program.

“The charges may be refiled if the program is not successfully completed,” the dismissal motion states.

Seay was arrested on New Year’s Eve after she stopped at a DWI checkpoint and told New Mexico State Police that she “drank a few glasses of wine before driving,” according to court documents. Officers said she had slurred speech, smelled of alcohol and “performed poorly” on sobriety tests but refused to take a breathalyzer test.

Court records show the aggravated DWI charge against Seay was dismissed on June 7 “due to insufficient evidence.” Prosecutors said in their dismissal that Seay admitted to drinking alcohol, but the officer’s lapel camera did not capture her apparent intoxication and how she performed on sobriety tests “cannot be clearly seen.”

Prosecutors note that a previous hearing also found “no probable cause” to charge Seay and that, coupled with the lack of evidence, “the state declines to prosecute,” according to court records.

Seay resigned from BCSO shortly after the arrest.

Her attorney did not respond to calls for comment.

On Jan. 25, Borrecco was charged with aggravated assault and negligent use of a deadly weapon after he allegedly pointed his service pistol at two men at a gas station. Borrecco, who had just gotten off work, was in his unmarked deputy vehicle and did not initially identify himself as an Albuquerque police deputy.

Borrecco was released by an APD sergeant and turned himself in the next day after officers found a gun and empty alcohol bottles in his vehicle.

The case went to trial and a jury found Borrecco not guilty on all charges on September 13, resulting in an acquittal. The next day, Borrecco’s attorney filed a motion for the return of his handgun, extended magazine and all 37 bullets seized by the APD.

On September 18, he got his gun and bullets back.

BCSO said Borrecco was on paid administrative leave because the agency’s internal investigation into the incident “may be reopened upon completion of the criminal investigation.”

He resigned from BCSO on September 20.

Les Romaine, Borrecco’s lawyer, said during the trial: “The truth came out.” He said the witnesses “had a checkered past and were classified as untruthful.”

“We’re just grateful that the jury listened to the evidence, listened to the testimony and came to the conclusion that they did,” Romaine said.

Arrey’s attorney did not respond to a call or message seeking comment.