Española City Police arrested an Alcalde man on April 9, after he tried to cash a fraudulent check for $400.
   Officer Ladislas Szabo was dispatched at 5:15 p.m., to Del Norte Credit Union, in regard to someone trying to cash a counterfeit check. When he arrived, he spoke with Jessica Ortiz, the bank manager, who told him the person was still in the drive-thru.
   Szabo parked in front of the car, which was occupied by the driver, later identified as Fredi Jose Adan Gutierrez, 24, of Velarde; Estrella Montoya, 20, of Amarillo, Texas; and Leonard Pacheco, 26, of Alcalde.
   Ortiz came out of the bank and pointed at Pacheco, seated in the backseat of the car and said he was the one trying to cash the forged $400 check. Szabo turned his back on the car and when he did, Pacheco began to get out of the car. Szabo was able to grab hold of him and handcuff him, then put him in the back of his patrol car.
As Columbus embarks on a new year, it leaves in its wake one of unmatched violence, of record homicides and felonious assaults. The emotions surrounding high-profile police shootings remain raw even as the calendar turns.
“Each of these shootings, homicides, assaults, is a neighbor of ours, a brother, sister, friend. And a loved one of a family in our community,” Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said in an exclusive interview. “So our heart breaks over each and every one of them.”
Ginther spoke with The Dispatch this week about the city’s violent year, police shootings, the future of policing in Columbus and what he thinks must happen next so that everyone can feel safe in the city that he leads.