BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com
A Los Alamos County employee, Constantine Tzortzis, 34, of Velarde has been charged with assault and attempted battery in connection with a May 5 on the job incident where he is reported to have thrown a coffee mug and made threats against colleagues. His arrest was in the Los Alamos Police Department’s weekly press report dated May 12 but only noted that he was arrested on a Municipal Court warrant. Tzortzis has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
An incident report obtained from LAPD indicates that officers responded to the Los Alamos County Human Resources Department because of alleged “active shooter threats and intent to use explosives”. The report states that a colleague reported that Tzortzis said he was tired of dealing with “little bitches” and as the colleague turned and walked away, he heard and felt something fly by his ear, and observed a coffee cup “that had broken on the cinder block wall next to him”.
The report indicates that the colleague reported to management some statements by Tzortzis earlier in the day that before another retires, “I am going to come with my AK and shoot everyone up”. The colleague said he replied, “And then what, you will kill yourself?” to which Tzortzis allegedly said, “No, the police will kill me. I have pipe bombs and will use them. I’ll throw them at people and the cops”.
On May 7, 2021 an arrest warrant was executed by an LAPD traffic stop at 101 Camino Entrada and Tzortzis was arrested without incident. The incident report indicates that due to the violent threats made by Mr. Tzortzis a high-risk traffic stop was conducted on him in his vehicle. Mr. Tzortzis was taken into custody without incident.
Tzortzis was interviewed by Det. Jemuel Montoya and Capt. James Vigil of the New Mexico Fire Marshal’s Office and was asked about the situation that lead to him being sent home from work and the circumstances leading up to it. According to Montoya’s report, Tzortzis stated that on May 5 he was working with is co-workers all day then returned to the County garage bay that the crew shares. He said his colleague had taken a garden hose from the back of the truck they were in and put it into the bay. He stated that when they returned, the hose was no longer in the bay. Tzortzis said he and the colleague had a heated argument and that the colleague had slapped a mug out of his hand that fell to the floor and broke in the bay. The report says when Tzortzis was confronted about the inconsistencies in the version of the story he was providing he became visibly angry and stated, “I think I need a lawyer”.
According to the Los Alamos Municipal Court, Tzortzis has been arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the charges. No future Court date has been set at this time. Tzortzis is on pre-trial conditions of release and his employment has been terminated by Los Alamos County.