(RightWing.org) – New Mexico-based media outlets exploded last summer after the news broke that Albuquerque police officers discovered several underage children in a pickup operated by a drunk driver. Later that week, the situation went from bad to worse for the suspect after investigators discovered something far more insidious was happening with one of the children. Law enforcement officials recently released video footage of his arrest, sparking renewed interest in the incident.
In July 2022, police officers pulled over Jeremy Guthrie for a suspected DUI after they noticed him driving erratically. He was 41 years old at the time. He subsequently failed a field sobriety test, and officers arrested him.
Police bodycam footage showed Guthrie fumbling around in the car, looking for his driver’s license. A police officer shined a flashlight through the passenger window, revealing five children in the backseat.
The officer asked Guthrie who the children were to him. he replied that they were just his friends. “That’s your friend?” the officer inquired, shining the flashlight beam on a sixth child, a girl, sitting in the passenger-side front seat. Guthrie said she was 18. The officer quickly retorted, “That girl’s not 18.”
Guthrie was arraigned the following day. Prosecutors charged him with six counts of felony child abuse in addition to the original DUI charge. Nevertheless, the judge presiding over the hearing decided to release him on his own recognizance. However, that never happened.
After speaking with the grandmother of two of the passengers in the car, twin 13-year-olds, investigators learned that he had reportedly violated one of the girls. Other family members backed up her story, adding that the intimate relationship had been going on for months.
Court documents alleged that Guthrie impregnated one of the girls. She miscarried when she was only 12. He currently faces additional charges related to her pregnancy and aiding in a child’s delinquency.
Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center records confirm he is currently being held in preventative detention, pending the outcome of his trial.
Copyright 2023, RightWing.org
