“It’s kind of cloudy, we wish it was a bit more sunny,” said Estrella Montoya, who is visiting San Diego from New Mexico. “This summer is such a big important deal to come here and not have to wear masks and not have to worry.”
She’s spending this Fourth of July weekend much differently than last.
“We just watched the fireworks at home,” she said. “Last summer we didn’t travel at all, we didn’t go anywhere.”
If you didn’t know any better, you may think it was a scene from before the pandemic – as thousands enjoyed the weekend along the water’s edge free from COVID-19 restrictions.
   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.