Frank Lovato: The I-25 Crash, Trial, and Sentencing

Frank Lovato, a 62-year-old retired Las Vegas, New Mexico firefighter, was killed in the I-25 crash on March 2, 2022, when Jeannine Jaramillo drove a stolen Chevrolet Malibu the wrong way on Interstate 25 near Santa Fe during a police pursuit and forced Lovato’s pickup into a head-on collision with the patrol car chasing her. Santa Fe Police Officer Robert Duran also died at the scene. Jaramillo, who had triggered the chase by falsely reporting a kidnapping, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in December 2024 and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.

How the Crash Happened

On the morning of March 2, 2022, Santa Fe police received a 911 call reporting that a woman was being held at knifepoint inside a car at an apartment complex near Sawmill Road and St. Francis Drive. Officers spotted a white Chevrolet Malibu matching the description and began a pursuit at roughly 11:30 a.m.¹ The Malibu had been stolen days earlier from Las Vegas, New Mexico, after its owner left the key fob inside while warming up the car.²

The chase moved through Santa Fe neighborhoods and onto I-25, where the driver crossed the median and sped south in the northbound lanes at more than 90 mph.² Frank Lovato was driving his pickup northbound near milepost 286, just past the Old Pecos Trail exit. When the Malibu bore down on him head-on, Lovato swerved and collided directly with Officer Robert Duran’s patrol vehicle, which was pursuing the suspect.³ Both men were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of a third car suffered non-life-threatening injuries.¹

Who Frank Lovato Was

Lovato was born and raised in Las Vegas, New Mexico, one of 13 children.⁴ He began volunteering with the Las Vegas Fire Department in 1977 at age 18 and was hired full-time in 1983.⁵ Over more than two decades, he rose to the rank of engineer before retiring in 2006.⁶

Even after retiring, he kept turning up at the fire station to check in on former colleagues. Interim Fire Chief Steven Spann called him “the example of a firefighter and the brotherhood that we have in the fire service,” saying “everybody was his brother, everybody was his friend.”⁶ After his death, the department retired his badge, number 27.⁵

Lovato left behind his wife, Ruby, three children (Charlene Lopez, Eric-Lee Frank Lovato, and Roberta Montoya), and five grandchildren.⁷ His funeral was held on March 12, 2022, at Our Lady of Sorrows Church. A procession of emergency vehicles carried his casket on a fire truck, stopping at each of the city’s three fire stations. Active firefighters wore black mourning bands on their badges.⁴

Officer Robert Duran, 43, of Rio Rancho, had joined the Santa Fe Police Department in January 2015 and served as a team leader on its Emergency Response Team. He was survived by his wife, Kathleen, and two teenage sons. His death was the first line-of-duty death in the Santa Fe Police Department since 1933.³

The Fake Kidnapping and the Driver

After the crash, officers found a woman at the scene who said she had been kidnapped, beaten, and forced to drive by a man named “Mark Lopez” who had fled on foot.³ She was placed in a patrol car, and investigators soon found the Malibu’s key fob in that same back seat.¹

New Mexico State Police took over the investigation and quickly picked the story apart. A search warrant on the Malibu’s onboard computer showed only the driver’s seat was occupied at impact. DNA on the driver’s-side airbag matched the woman. No trace of a “Mark Lopez” or any second person was ever found.¹ State police concluded the kidnapping report was fabricated.⁸

The woman was Jeannine Jaramillo, 46, of Albuquerque. She was arrested on March 5, 2022, and charged with two counts of felony first-degree murder, aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer, receiving or transferring a stolen motor vehicle, and tampering with evidence.¹

Jaramillo had a criminal record going back nearly two decades, including a 2014 guilty plea to three counts of receiving a stolen vehicle and a 2015 arrest for battery on a police officer with a deadly weapon. More striking was a September 2021 incident in Cibola County that closely mirrored the fatal crash: after a pursuit involving a stolen car, she told deputies she had been kidnapped and gave a description of the alleged kidnapper that, according to law enforcement, was nearly identical to the one she later gave in Santa Fe. That case was dismissed with the option to refile. A second Cibola County arrest followed in October 2021, again involving a stolen vehicle.⁹

At trial, Jerry Chavez, identified variously as Jaramillo’s former boyfriend and common-law husband, testified that he and Jaramillo had driven the stolen Malibu from Las Vegas to Santa Fe and spent the night in the car in an apartment complex parking lot. After an argument the next morning, Jaramillo ordered him out and told a passerby to call 911, claiming she was being held against her will. Chavez walked away when he heard sirens, and Jaramillo drove off alone.¹⁰

The Trial and Verdict

Jaramillo’s trial began in December 2024 in the First Judicial District Court before Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. Prosecutors pursued two theories of first-degree murder that do not require premeditation: felony murder based on aggravated fleeing, and depraved-mind murder based on total disregard for human life.¹¹

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Padgett Macias played dash-camera and body-camera footage and told jurors Jaramillo’s actions were like “lighting a fuse and escaping seconds before the bomb explodes.” She said Officer Duran’s patrol unit and Lovato’s truck were “nearly disintegrated by the impact.” A witness at the apartment complex, Richard Musser, testified he was “100% sure” Jaramillo was alone when she claimed she was being threatened. The judge admitted evidence of the September 2021 Cibola County arrest to show a pattern of fabricated kidnapping claims during pursuits.¹²

In her closing, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told the jury flatly, “There is no Mark Lopez,” comparing the case to arson: when a firefighter dies running into a burning building, blame falls on the arsonist, not the rescuer. Jaramillo, she said, was “the arsonist.”³ Defense attorney David Silva argued there was no evidence Jaramillo had an “evil mind” or intended to kill anyone.¹³

On December 12, 2024, after roughly five hours of deliberation, the jury found Jaramillo guilty on all counts: two counts of first-degree murder, great bodily injury by vehicle (reckless driving), aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer, receiving or transferring a stolen motor vehicle, and making a false report of a criminal violation.³

Sentencing

On December 19, 2024, before Judge Marlowe Sommer imposed sentence, the families spoke. Charlene Lopez, Frank Lovato’s daughter, said in a statement read by the district attorney: “From that day forward, anything positive that has happened or will happen in our lives will be followed by sadness, grief and heartbreak because my father isn’t there.” Officer Duran’s sister, Angela Gamino, told the court her family had been “completely shattered.”¹³

The judge imposed two consecutive life sentences for the murder convictions, plus nearly eight additional years for making a false report, great bodily injury by vehicle, and receiving or transferring a stolen motor vehicle, with the lesser counts running concurrently with the second life sentence.¹⁴ Jaramillo must serve 60 years before she is eligible for parole.¹³

Jaramillo interrupted the hearing, insisting “I was trying to get on the freeway the right way” and “I’m not a murderer.” Judge Sommer answered her directly: “You have taken the life of two outstanding members of the community.”¹³ Silva said he planned to file an appeal.¹¹

1
New Mexico Department of Public Safety. NMSP Investigates Fatal Crash on I-25 Involving the Santa Fe Police Department
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Ryan Lowery. Unsealed Court Documents Shed Light on Crash That Killed Former LV Firefighter, SF Officer
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KRQE. Jury Convicts Woman of Making False Report, Causing Double Fatal Crash on I-25 Near Santa Fe
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Santa Fe New Mexican. Hundreds Honor Retired Las Vegas Firefighter Killed in Crash
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KRQE. Retired Las Vegas Firefighter Remembered
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KOB. Retired Las Vegas Firefighter ID’d as I-25 Crash Victim
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Las Vegas Optic. Frank Lovato Obituary
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Santa Fe Reporter. State Police: Carjacking Story Fake
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KOAT. Suspect in Deadly Crash Has Extensive Criminal Record
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KOAT. Case Moves Forward Against Woman Charged With Killing Officer and Retired Firefighter
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FireRescue1. N.M. Driver Faces 2 Life Sentences in Deaths of Police Officer, Retired Firefighter
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Yahoo News. Testimony Begins in Trial of Woman Charged in Wrong-Way I-25 Crash
13
Santa Fe New Mexican. Woman Convicted of 2 Deaths Amid Kidnapping Ruse Gets 2 Life Sentences
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KOB. Judge Sentences Jeannine Jaramillo to More Than 60 Years in Prison for Deadly Wrong-Way Crash