Rocket launcher may prompt treason case

LOS LUNAS, N.M. (KRQE) - The man isn't allowed to own a gun, let alone a rocket launcher.

Eugene Jaramillo, 33, has a long rap sheet including robbery, selling drugs and stealing cars. He got out of prison two months ago and is still on parole.

Last week, a woman accused Jaramillo of rape and told New Mexico State Police they could find him and his guns in Los Lunas.

When officers got to his storage unit, they got a big surprise. They found a Vietnam War-era rocket launcher that can take out an armored vehicle.

Ammunition was inside, and it was ready for use.

"They went in there just looking for handguns, Deputy U.S. Marshal James Badway told KRQE News 13. "He was a felon and wasn't supposed to be in possession of any handguns."

The federal agents don't know how Jaramillo got his hands on the rocket launcher, but Badway said it has a past.

"It may have been taken in a burglary from a train back in the 1970s," he said.

The feds want to know how Jaramillo got it and what he was going to do with it.

Also inside the unit were a loaded pistol and a meth lab.

Marshals had to track down Jaramillo after he cut off his GPS ankle monitor.

They tracked him to Meadow Lake east of Los Lunas and found him hiding under a friend's trailer.

"He's about 6-foot-4, 200-plus pounds," Badway said. "He even cut himself on his head crawling underneath his trailer to hide."

Jaramillo faces state charges for parole violations, but he could face a number of federal charges.

When asked if Jaramillo is considered a terrorist, Badway said he could be.

"After the interview--they're interviewing him right now--some of the charges they are looking at are treason," said Deputy Badway.

The rocket launcher has been destroyed. On the side it said it was tested April 12, 1970.

State Police say they didn't have enough evidence to charge Jaramillo with rape.