By Wheeler Cowperthwaite
Special to the SUN

A Hernandez woman is wanted on a warrant after she allegedly failed to appear in court on charges of attempted robbery and battery.

District Judge Jason Lidyard issued the bench warrant for Chanelle Chacon, 34, on March 4, for her failure to appear for a status hearing, failure to comply with the conditions of her release and failure to report to pretrial services.

The warrant is valid in the entire state.

Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Deputy Joey Graves initially arrested Chacon on charges of battery, attempt to escape from an officer and attempt to commit robbery on Feb. 9, after he was called to Private Drive 1531, he wrote in a statement of probable cause for her arrest.

A man whom Graves described as an “elderly,” who can “barely walk without the aid of a walker” told deputies that he was walking on County Road 1 when Chacon approached him and asked if he had any money to spare. When he went into his pocket, he exposed a $100 bill, which she grabbed. He grabbed it back, then fell to the ground as he tried to hold onto his walker, Graves wrote.

Deputies handcuffed Chacon and she told them it was her money and he took it from her. They then arrested her and took her to the Española Hospital for a medical clearance. As he went to get her out of his car, Graves saw that she had removed her handcuffs, leading to the attempted escape charge.

Rio Arriba Magistrate Judge Joseph Madrid released her on her own recognizance the following day, Feb 10, however, she wasn’t released until Feb. 13.

Five days later, pretrial services officer Felix Sena filed a report for alleged violations of her release, as she had not contacted their office as required and gave them no phone number to contact her. Subsequently on March 4, she failed to appear for a status hearing in the case, leading to the bench warrant.