A San Juan County man has been charged with violating a restraining order after a reported encounter involving a motorcycle in Aztec, according to a Statement of Probable Cause filed in magistrate court.

The incident occurred March 5, 2026, and the case was filed March 6 in San Juan County Magistrate Court in Aztec.

Dispatch and Initial Contact

According to the statement written by San Juan County Sheriff’s Deputy Tanner Lusk, deputies were dispatched at approximately 1:46 p.m. on March 5 in reference to a reported restraining order violation.

The deputy wrote that state police had stopped a male riding a motorcycle after receiving a description from dispatch of a person believed to have violated a restraining order. The individual identified himself as Paul Herrera, and dispatch confirmed an active restraining order filed against him.

The reporting party told deputies that the defendant had come to her residence earlier and refused to leave. The deputy wrote that she later contacted dispatch reporting the restraining order violation and said she feared the defendant might harm her.

Motorcycle Encounter Reported

According to the affidavit, deputies learned that while the reporting party was on the phone with dispatch, the defendant left the area on a motorcycle heading southbound on U.S. 550.

State police located the motorcycle and initiated a traffic stop. The deputy wrote that he arrived on scene shortly after the stop was made.

When asked by the deputy whether he had gone to the reporting party’s residence that day, the defendant confirmed that he had. The deputy wrote that the defendant also stated he did not know a restraining order had been filed against him.

Statements to Deputies

The deputy wrote that the reporting party later provided a statement describing events earlier that day. According to the affidavit, she said the defendant had contacted her by phone asking to have the restraining order removed and asking to come home.

The reporting party told deputies she felt threatened and was afraid of the defendant based on past behavior described in the statement.

She also reported seeing the defendant arrive on a motorcycle in the Safeway parking lot in Aztec and said she locked the doors of her vehicle because she feared the defendant might harm her.

The affidavit states that she told deputies she later handed the defendant tools from the back of her truck before he left the area riding southbound on U.S. 550.

Arrest and Transport

Deputies placed the defendant in handcuffs and conducted a search incident to arrest, according to the affidavit.

The deputy wrote that the defendant was advised of his Miranda rights and stated he understood them. Questioning stopped after the defendant invoked his Fifth Amendment rights.

The defendant was transported to the San Juan County Adult Detention Center.

Charges Filed

• Violation of restraining order

The allegation follows other recent violent crime filings in the area, including a Farmington apartment knife assault case described in court records earlier this year.

Case Status

A magistrate judge determined there was probable cause to believe a crime had been committed. Court records state the defendant is being held pending entry of a release order after appearing before a judge.

Source

Information for this article was taken from a Statement of Probable Cause filed in San Juan County Magistrate Court in Aztec.

Additional procedural information comes from a probable cause determination filed in the same court.

Paul Herrera is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. Charges are allegations. No determination of guilt has been made.