Assaulted police vehicle and set home on fire

COSTILLA COUNTY— A Costilla County man is in custody after a rampage Wednesday night at a residence about five miles southwest of San Luis.

Cimmarron Mathes, approximately 30 years old, used a semi truck and two tractors to ram numerous vehicles, including a Blanca police car with the Police Chief Ricky Rodriguez and an officer inside, as well as a shed and a house belonging to his father, causing partial collapse of both structures. Both Rodriguez and Blanca police officer Josh Sanchez sustained injuries but no transport to the hospital was required.

According to Costilla County Sheriff Danny Sanchez, his office received a report of a disturbance around 6:30 pm involving a man armed with a knife who was threatening family members. Deputies responded to the home belonging to Mathes’ father, located on County Road P, approximately 5 miles southwest of San Luis.

When CCSO deputies arrived on the scene, Mathes fled from the house and got into a tractor trailer, using it to ram multiple vehicles owned by individuals on the property.

Sheriff Sanchez stated that Mathes then drove the tractor trailer to adjoining property owned by his uncle where he stole a tractor. By that time, after receiving a call for “mutual assistance”, Blanca PD had arrived on the scene and joined in pursuing Mathes.

Seeing the Blanca police car with both lights and siren engaged, Mathes then used the tractor he was driving to target the police officers, ramming their car on the passenger side, injuring both officers and rendering the car undrivable.

“If I hadn’t been able to back out of the way,” Chief Rodriguez said, “he would have hit us with that tractor head on.”

Mathes, who, according to Sheriff Sanchez, “was also brandishing a knife at times”, then drove back to his father’s property, exited the first tractor and got into a second tractor with a front loader, at which point he drove back to the Blanca police car, lifted it with the front loader and tossed it, causing it to flip multiple times before it finally came to a stop in a nearby ditch. Fortunately, both Blanca policemen had already exited the car.

Mathes then turned the tractor around and headed back toward his father’s house.

By that time, Sheriff Sanchez had ordered deputies to evacuate everyone from inside and move them out of harm’s way.

Still using the tractor with the front loader, Mathes continued to ram vehicles and then a shed on the property, causing partial collapse of the building. He then turned and rammed his father’s house, as well, causing part of the house to collapse.

“Somehow he then managed to turn the tractor on its side,” Sheriff Sanchez said. “I don’t know how he managed to do that, but he did.”

Sanchez says that Mathes then exited the tractor and fled into his father’s house where he barricaded himself inside. CCSO deputies ordered Mathes to come out of the house but he refused. At that time, Alamosa SWAT was contacted and arrived on the scene around midnight.

SWAT ordered Mathes to come out but again he refused. Unknown to law enforcement officials at the time, Mathes had apparently been attempting to set the interior of the house on fire but was unsuccessful. However, shortly after SWAT’s arrival, flames could be seen coming through the roof.

At that point, Alamosa SWAT deployed tear gas into the house which drove Mathes from the building. “By then,” Sanchez says, “the house was already starting to go up in flames.”

At approximately 1:30am, Mathes was taken into custody and checked out by medical personnel on the scene. After being cleared, he was transported to Costilla County jail.

Mathes is currently facing several charges of attempted murder of a police officer, first degree arson, criminal mischief and theft of a vehicle. Other charges may be pending.

Sheriff Sanchez says that Cimmarron Mathes was already known to local law enforcement “but not to this extent.” Mathes currently has a warrant out of Alamosa Police Department and two warrants in Costilla County, although the details of those warrants are not known at this time.

Despite law enforcement officials on the scene facing a suspect who is targeting them and using farm machinery as a deadly weapon, no shots were fired. Instead, deputies and police officers showed exceptional restraint in dealing with a suspect who had proven himself to be both armed and dangerous, resulting in the preservation of the lives of all involved, including the suspect himself.

Sheriff Sanchez and the Costilla County Sheriff Office would like to extend their deepest thanks to the Blanca Police Department, the Alamosa Police Department, Alamosa SWAT, Manassa Police Department and Conejos County Sheriff’s Office for their rapid response and assistance in this incident.