A police chase and crash that claimed the life of a retired Las Vegas firefighter and a Santa Fe police officer began with a car stolen from Las Vegas, according to New Mexico State Police.

The white 2019 Chevrolet Malibu was reported stolen Feb. 28 from a home in Las Vegas where the owner was warming up the unattended vehicle. Two days later, police in Santa Fe pursued the Malibu after receiving a report that a woman inside had been kidnapped, a story police allege is false.

An arrest affidavit for 46-year-old Jeannine J. Jaramillo unsealed Monday in Santa Fe Magistrate Court details what led to the fatal crash that killed 62-year-old Frank Lovato, a retired Las Vegas firefighter, and 43-year-old Robert Duran, an officer with the Santa Fe Police Department.

Santa Fe police responded to a call around 11:30 a.m. March 2 about a woman driving a Chevy Malibu in Santa Fe who’d asked a pedestrian to call 911. She told the pedestrian a man in the car was armed with a knife.

Officers with the Santa Fe Police Department attempted to stop the Malibu near St. Frances Drive and Rodeo Road, but the driver failed to stop, and police began pursuing the car.

The car led police through a residential neighborhood before getting on Interstate 25, driving the wrong way at speeds of at least 90 mph, according to the recently unsealed arrest affidavit filed in Santa Fe Magistrate Court.

As police pressed the car, the driver turned around and began driving south in the northbound lanes of I-25, which caused “numerous uninvolved motorists” to “quickly maneuver their vehicles to avoid” head-on collisions with the Malibu, according to the affidavit.

Lovato, a retired LVFD engineer, was driving north on I-25 as the Malibu sped toward him, going the wrong direction, about one mile from the Old Pecos Trail exit.

Lovato swerved to avoid a collision, but his pickup crashed head-on with a Santa Fe Police Department vehicle driven by Officer Duran.

Both Lovato and Duran were killed.

A second crash occurred soon after involving another motorist and an SFPD vehicle that resulted in minor injuries to people in each vehicle.

The Malibu continued to flee, driving the wrong way on I-25, and at a high-rate of speed, according to the affidavit. The chase ended when the Malibu crashed into another pickup, spun off the roadway and stopped on the shoulder.

At the time of the crash, an SFPD vehicle was following closely. The officer witnessed Jaramillo exit the Malibu. Police did not find anyone else in the car, and only Jaramillo was seen exiting it, according to the affidavit. Jaramillo was taken to St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe and treated for a broken right arm.

Jaramillo was not arrested or charged at the scene of the crash; however, following an investigation, a warrant for her arrest was issued Saturday.

Officers with New Mexico State Police arrested Jaramillo in Albuquerque Saturday, and she was booked into the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center that evening.

During booking, corrections officers at the jail located methamphetamine hidden in Jaramillo’s “genital area,” according to a separate criminal complaint filed in Santa Fe Magistrate Court.

Jaramillo is charged with two counts first-degree murder, or in the alternative, two counts of homicide by vehicle.

The decision on which of the charges Jaramillo would ultimately be charged with will be made during a trial. The decision would rest in the hands of a judge or a jury — known legally as fact finders — based on the evidence presented at trial, according to First Judicial Deputy District Attorney Kent Wahlquist.

Jaramillo also faces felony charges of receiving or transferring a stolen motor vehicle, aggravated fleeing of law enforcement and tampering with evidence. She’s charged with possession of a controlled substance in the incident during booking.

The investigation into Jaramillo began soon after the crash. Following medical treatment for the broken arm, Jaramillo told police that prior to the pursuit, a man named “Mark” had struck her in the head and chest with a closed fist, and that she’d been knocked unconscious by one of the blows. She said that when she regained consciousness, he was pouring gasoline on her and that she feared he was going to light her on fire.

Police say Jaramillo’s clothing did not smell of gasoline and that she did not have injuries consistent with being punched.

Police also examined the Malibu’s on-board computer which, using weight sensors in each seat, indicated only one person was in the car at the time of the chase and the crashes. Additionally, only the driver-side airbag deployed.

During a search of the vehicle, police found aluminum tape wrapped around the satellite antenna, which police believe was done to conceal its location from vehicle tracking services, such as Chevrolet’s Vehicle Locate app.

Jaramillo was scheduled to appear in Santa Fe Magistrate Court Monday afternoon, but the hearing was rescheduled for Tuesday. She remained in custody as of this writing.

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