BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com
A 21-year old Rochester, New York man ended up in the Los Alamos County Jail June 1 not long after Los Alamos Police officers helped him get his vehicle out of soft sand off Rendija Road.
LAPD Cpl. Jemuel Montoya responded to a report to dispatch of a man in a vehicle with New York plates stranded for 15 hours in the remote area without water or a phone. Court documents indicate that when Montoya made contact with Kyle Zocco he first stated he was randomly traveling the United States from New York and was headed to Colorado. Then he said he was traveling from Illinois and ended up on Rendija Road. Montoya observed lots of empty food and drink containers in the vehicle.
Montoya’s report states that out of context, Zocco said,” I hope you guys are not crooked like Rochester police”. Montoya said he assured him LAPD was simply there to get him unstuck and out of the remote spot. Officer then got the vehicle unstuck and pointed out of the canyon at which time Zocco thanked them and left.
Shortly thereafter, Montoya was notified by Sgt. Tim Lonz that Zocco was parked in a dead end residential street not leading out of town. Lonz reported that Zocco wanted to talk to Montoya. Zocco told Montoya he wanted a lawyer to help him with his problems, that he was tied of going to sleep and getting raped in his vehicle. He told Montoya his bank accounts were drained and that he has no idea what is going on. He also said he had a $250,000 winning lottery ticket in his pocket and was now headed to California.
Montoya asked Zocco when he had last spoken to his family and Zocco replied three days ago. Montoya asked for a phone number to contact Zocco’s father in New York. The report states that when Lonz called the father he found out that there was an attempt to locate bulletin issued for Zocco for attempting to run over two police officers in Irondequoit, New York.
Montoya’s report states that Zocco did not comply when asked to get out of the vehicle so he was assisted and placed in handcuffs. When asked if there was anything in the car the officers should know about, he said there was marijuana and a knife inside. Officers located two large heat-sealed plastic bags of a condensed, green, leafy substance and a large bag with “hundreds of small sealable plastic bags used for individual sale” as well as a digital scale. They also found multiple plastic shopping bags with corners cut off and torn as well as a plastic bad with green, leafy residue and seeds.
In total, the report says 2.11 pounds of marijuana were found and that multiple rolling papers and lighters were observed. Montoya’s report states that the vehicle showed multiple signs of being used for drug transportation. The report states that all the door panels of the vehicle were pried off and loose backs of seats were pulled apart with “many voids” located.
Zocco was charged with distribution of marijuana, possession of 8 ounces or more of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Magistrate Judge Alexandra Naranjo, filling in for Judge Pat Casados, set conditions June 4 for Zocco requiring him to remain on house arrest in electronic monitoring pending trial at a New Mexico address. As of Wednesday morning, Zocco remained in custody at the Los Alamos Detention Center.