Artesia man arrested on numerous charges, police say

1/9/2023

Rawnews1st – Agents with the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force were involved in an investigation that led to the arrest of Luther Hammett, an Artesia resident.

Hammett was wanted by narcotics agents for having a warrant for his arrest on federal drug trafficking charges.

The arrest warrant for Hammett was secured previously by Agents when Hammett was found to be in possession of over ten thousand fentanyl pills.

Task Force Agents were assisted by Carlsbad Police Department Detectives who also had an investigation into Hammett for firing a firearm in a Carlsbad business during a domestic incident between Hammett and a female.

Working collaboratively, Agents and Detectives were able to locate Hammett in Artesia near the Abo Shopping Center at Runyan and Thirteenth.

As Law enforcement attempted to contact Hammett, who was parked, Hammett reversed his vehicle and rammed a task force agents’ vehicle.

Hammett then fled the scene. Hammett was pursued from Artesia on to US 82 east of Artesia. During the Pursuit he was observed to throw a firearm out of his vehicle window. The firearm was recovered by Agents.

Additionally, during the pursuit Hammett was believed to have thrown out large amounts of fentanyl pills. Approximately 340 pills were recovered scattered in the car driven by Hammett.

Agents believe as Hammett drove in speeds excess of 100 miles an hour, he was attempting to dump the pills out of the car and the wind blew many of the pills back into the vehicles compartment.

Hammett’s car was eventually tire spiked by ECSO Deputies on Illinois Camp Road just north of Carlsbad. He drove his vehicle for a time on rims until the vehicle was unable to navigate a sharp turn and gave out and stopped in a field adjacent to the road.

Agents and Eddy County Patrol Deputies took Hammett into Custody at this time. No injuries were reported during the incident.

Hammett was transported to the Eddy County Detention Center (ECDC) in Carlsbad. When Hammett was taken to ECDC he punched an ECDC Officer repeatedly and was restrained by Deputies and Jail Staff.

Pecos Valley Task Force Agents later executed a search warrant of the vehicle occupied by Hammett. Agents located approximately a half pound of methamphetamine and approximately 340 fentanyl pills in the car driven by Luther Hammett.

Along with the federal drug trafficking arrest warrant, Hammett was charged with the following:

Battery upon a peace officer x2
Aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer
Tampering with evidence
Reckless driving
Failure to pay fines previously imposed Hammett is facing additional charges from Carlsbad Police Detectives Division for the 01-01-23 incident in Carlsbad of:
Kidnapping
Aggravated Battery on a household member
Aggravated Battery
Aggravated Assault
Criminal Damage to property
Felon in Possession of a firearm
Unlawful taking of a motor vehicle
Tampering with evidence According to Eddy County Sheriff Mark Cage, Hammett is still pending additional federal charges for the firearm and methamphetamine located during the pursuit. Sheriff Cage reports that Task Force Agents have noted a slight uptick in violence related to drug trafficking in Eddy County in the last few months. “Our Law Enforcement men and women will continue to aggressively pursue these violent criminal offenders in order to keep our communities safe” stated Cage. The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force investigated this case collaboratively with help from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, the Carlsbad Police Department, and the Artesia Police Department. Any persons who wish to provide any information about this case or other drug related criminal cases can contact PVDTF Commander Lenin Leos at 575-887-5194. Anonymous drug tips can also be reported via Crime Stoppers of Eddy County at 575-887-1888.