By MAIRE O’NEILLLos Alamos Magistrate Judge Pat Casados opted Monday in court to keep Victoria Espinoza in jail on a cash only secured bond for $3,000 unless she can be admitted to an inpatient drug treatment facility.
“I truly feel from the information here today and from the statement of probable cause and arrest warrant that you cannot stop at this point in time,” Casados said.
Espinoza was arrested Friday afternoon on a warrant and charged with possession of methamphetamine; possession of heroin; selling, disposing, possessing dangerous drugs; possession of marijuana; and two counts of drug paraphernalia.
According to the request for issuance of an arrest filed by Los Alamos Police Det. Ryan Wolking, police responded to a home on Yosemite in White Rock where a caller indicated she had observed Espinoza using heroin via a needle. The caller also said Espinoza was in possession of methamphetamine, heroin and drug paraphernalia belonging to Espinoza.
Wolking’s report indicates that he found approximately three grams of suspected methamphetamine, 1.5 grams of suspected heroin, 4.3 grams of suspected marijuana, a used vile of Copaxone, 53 used hypodermic needles, a glass broken methamphetamine pipe, five roaches of marijuana and two versions of the same prescription in the same prescription pill container.
Assistant District Attorney Kent Wahlquist told Judge Casados that Espinoza has a significant history of drug abuse and that she cannot stop herself. He expressed concern for Espinoza’s safety should she be released pending trial.
“I’m not afraid she’ll run and not appear, I’m afraid she’ll run and use,” Wahlquist said.
He said Det. Wolking talked to people who know Espinoza in the community and they also had expressed concern that if she got out “she would find drugs and use them and probably die”.
“I think your honor would recognize some of these names of I mentioned them. If these are the types of people that are afraid for her, that shows that she is far beyond the run of the mill recreational drug use; it’s something she can’t stop herself from doing,” Wahlquist said.
He asked the Court to order Espinoza into an inpatient treatment facility adding that it would be a good idea if she stayed in custody until she could go directly into a program.
“She can’t stop herself and the Court needs to protect her from herself otherwise we may have another overdose on our hands and I don’t want to see that. This is a situation where she’s a danger to herself,” Wahlquist said.
