Adam Gutierrez

SANTA FE — Gov. Susana Martinez announced that Adam Gutierrez, one of New Mexico’s most wanted DWI fugitives, has been captured.

His arrest comes just days after the Governor announced that the state would ramp-up efforts to locate and capture repeat DWI offenders – including those who have killed or seriously injured families on the road – who have skipped out on parole or probation and are now hiding from the law.

“Criminals like Adam Gutierrez have no place out on our streets where they put our families in danger,” Martinez said. “I’m proud of our State Police and Corrections Department for working hard to track down these criminals and putting them back behind bars where they belong.”

State Police arrested Gutierrez on Thursday in Los Lunas — just days after the Governor announced her executive initiatives to crack down on DWI. He had three outstanding warrants – two for failure to comply with the conditions of his probation, and one for contempt of court and failure to pay child support. Some of his original crimes were a fourth DWI, which was aggravated, and a fifth felony DWI offense.

“The arrest of Adam Gutierrez is further proof that when we work together, we make our communities safer,” said Corrections Department Cabinet Secretary Gregg Marcantel. “This arrest represents the first of more to come. That’s why we’re grateful for the community’s partnership in this initiative, and I ask that we each remain diligent and continue to call when a fugitive is spotted.”

The list of most wanted DWI absconders is available online here. Many of these offenders are also violent criminals who drove drunk and either seriously injured another driver or killed them, or they are repeat offenders who are at high-risk for causing a tragedy to occur in the future.

“New Mexico State Police officers are justifiably proud to bring Adam Gutierrez to justice,” said New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas. “And while Gutierrez will go back to prison where he belongs, we won’t rest until all of these criminals are rounded up and off New Mexico’s streets.”

Earlier this week, Governor Martinez announced a series of executive initiatives to crack down on DWI crimes in New Mexico. In addition to this ramp-up of efforts to capture DWI absconders, these initiatives also include increasing police patrols on some of the state’s deadliest highways to specifically target drunk drivers and establishments that over-serve; and a bench warrant roundup program to find and arrest a high-risk group of DWI offenders that are more likely to drink and drive again.

The Governor also announced the launch of a program to monitor the outcome of DWI cases in certain counties in New Mexico, placing citizens in courtrooms during DWI cases in an effort to shine a light on how the judicial system is handling them.