Mario Muniz
NMSP News:
SANTA FE COUNTY – At about 10:37 p.m., Wednesday Nov. 23, 2022, a New Mexico State Police (NMSP) officer on patrol attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a 2005 Dodge Neon passenger car for driving recklessly on Interstate 25 northbound near milepost 280 in Santa Fe.
The driver of the Dodge continued to travel north on Interstate 25 and refused to stop, and a pursuit was initiated.
During the pursuit, the vehicle exited off Interstate 25 at the St. Francis Drive exit and drove through Santa Fe. As another NMSP officer arrived to assist with the pursuit, the driver of the vehicle almost struck the officer’s vehicle head-on on Galisteo Road.
A pursuit intervention technique (PIT) was utilized to bring the vehicle to a stop near Galisteo Road and Galisteo Court.
The driver of the vehicle, Kathryn Tohm, 25, of La Cienega along with a male passenger Mario Muniz, 34, of Santa Fe, were both taken into custody without further incident. Both Tohm and Muniz were uninjured.
The officer conducted a driver’s license search on Muniz through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), Muniz had two outstanding felony arrest warrants for his arrest out of Florida and Arkansas.
Kathryn Tohm
As the officer conducted a vehicle tow inventory on the vehicle, Muniz told officers there may be narcotics inside the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the NMSP office in Santa Fe where a NMSP officer obtained a search warrant for the vehicle.
During the execution of the search warrant, the officer located 1,100 Fentanyl pills, 20 Suboxone strips and $1,964.00 in cash that belonged to Muniz.
Muniz was charged with the following:
- Possession of a Controlled Substance (2 Counts); and
- Trafficking with Intent to Distribute (2 Counts).
Tohm was charged with the following:
- Driving while Under the Influence of Drugs (Refusal);
- Aggravated Fleeing from a Law Enforcement Officer; and
- Careless Driving.
Tohm and Muniz were booked into the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center in Santa Fe.