Along with the weather, criminal activity appears to be heating up in Grant County.
“April and the first week of May have brought us a significant increase in serious incidents and/or criminal cases,” Sheriff Frank Gomez told Grant County commissioners at their regular meeting Thursday. He noted that “a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history” who had recently been released from prison was apprehended this week in connection with a May 1 shootout that occurred “at a large family gathering” in Santa Clara.
Gomez told the Daily Press that the Silver City Police Department arrested 27-year-old Joseph Chavez pursuant to an arrest warrant during a traffic stop in the Brewer Hill neighborhood Wednesday. According to court documents, in addition to three criminal charges stemming from the Santa Clara shootout, Chavez picked up seven more charges during the traffic stop, during which police say they found nearly 11 grams of methamphetamine in the car Chavez was operatin