March 2, 2022, started out as just another Wednesday for the people of Santa Fe. But by noon, the city was grappling with a loss it hadn't seen in nearly a century. Robert Duran, a senior police officer and a father of two, was killed in a violent, high-speed wreck on Interstate 25.
It was a nightmare scenario. A chaotic chase, a wrong-way driver, and a frantic 911 call that turned out to be a complete lie.
Honestly, the details of what happened to Robert Duran police officer and retired firefighter Frank Lovato are hard to stomach. You’ve got a dedicated public servant doing his job, responding to what he thought was a life-or-death kidnapping, only to be lured into a trap of someone else's making.
What Really Happened on I-25?
It all kicked off around 11:00 a.m. at the Rancho Vizcaya Apartments. A 911 caller reported a carjacking and a kidnapping in progress. The story was terrifying: a man armed with a knife had supposedly snatched a woman and her car.
Senior Officer Robert Duran and his team didn't hesitate. They spotted the white Chevrolet Malibu near Sawmill Road and the pursuit was on.
The driver of the Malibu, later identified as Jeannine Jaramillo, led police onto I-25. Things went from bad to worse fast. Jaramillo crossed the median, driving the wrong way into oncoming traffic at high speeds.
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Near mile marker 286—coincidentally Duran’s badge number—the Malibu caused a massive four-vehicle pileup. Officer Duran’s patrol unit was caught in the carnage. So was a pickup truck driven by Frank Lovato, a 62-year-old retired firefighter from Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Both Duran and Lovato died at the scene.
The Twisted Web of Jeannine Jaramillo
Here is where the story gets truly infuriating. For hours after the crash, police were searching for a "mysterious man" in a red shirt who had supposedly fled the scene. Jaramillo, who survived the wreck, told officers she was the victim. She played the part of the kidnapped woman perfectly.
But the evidence didn't back her up.
Investigators from the New Mexico State Police started looking at the car's computer data and DNA. They found out that only the driver's seat was occupied at the time of the crash. The DNA on the driver's side airbag? It was Jaramillo's.
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Basically, there was no kidnapper. There was no man in a red shirt.
Jaramillo had a history of this. Six months prior, she had been charged with making a similar false report. She had a pattern of using 911 to create chaos during arguments with her boyfriend. This time, her lie cost two men their lives.
Remembering Robert Duran: More Than a Badge
It's easy to get lost in the legal drama, but Robert Duran police officer was a real person with a life outside of the uniform. He was 43 years old. He lived in Rio Rancho. He had a wife, Kathleen, and two teenage sons who basically lost their world that Wednesday.
Duran wasn't a rookie. He joined the Santa Fe Police Department in 2015 and worked his way up to the Emergency Response Team. Before that, he served in the United States Army.
His peers called him "the life of the party." His niece, Kaylee Gamino, described him as a goofy guy who loved to make people laugh but was "all-in" when it came to being a dad.
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The Santa Fe PD hadn't lost an officer in the line of duty since 1933. That's almost 90 years of safety shattered in a single afternoon. When the city held his memorial at the Rio Rancho Events Center, thousands of people showed up. You had law enforcement from across the country standing in silence for a guy who just wanted to protect his community.
Justice Served, but the Void Remains
In late 2024, the legal saga finally hit its end point. A jury didn't buy Jaramillo’s story for a second. They found her guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.
The sentence was heavy: two life sentences plus 60 years.
District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies called it a "2 1/2-year nightmare" for the families. While the verdict brings some closure, it doesn't bring back the guy who loved his boys or the retired firefighter who was just driving down the highway.
Lessons from the Tragedy
This case changed how many departments in New Mexico look at pursuit policies and 911 verification. While you can't always ignore a kidnapping call, the sheer recklessness of the suspect highlights the extreme danger officers face every time they flip on the sirens.
If you want to honor the legacy of Robert Duran police officer, consider these steps:
- Support the Families: Organizations like the 100 Club of New Mexico provide immediate financial support to the families of fallen officers.
- Advocate for Mental Health: The psychological toll on the responding officers who survived that crash is immense. Support programs that offer peer counseling for first responders.
- Stay Informed on Local Policy: High-speed pursuit policies are constantly being debated in city councils. Stay active in those conversations to ensure a balance between public safety and officer protection.
Robert Duran’s badge number, 286, is now a symbol in Santa Fe—a reminder of a man who went "all-in" for his family and his city, right up until the very end.