Substation opens in rural San Juan Co.

SAN JUAN COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) - San Juan County dedicated a new Sheriff’s community substation in a rural part of the county on July 16.

The substation was built in Huerfano, an area that has had trouble fighting crime because of its location.

“We need the back up,” said Johnny Russell, a life-long resident and firefighter in Huerfano.

The community sits about 24 miles south of Bloomfield off of U.S. Highway 550.

“There are a lot of back roads and the backup is like two hours or three hours away so there's a lot challenges we’re faced with out here,” said Sampson Cowboy, Navajo Nation Public Safety Director.

Residents believe this new substation will help cut down on response time, a problem they say often leads to people getting away with crimes.

“By the time they arrive, most of the suspects are gone, or most everything’s gone and everything just fades away,” Russell said.

In addition to offering a police presence in Huerfano, the substation also provides a place for officers to do work, they can fill out reports in one of the offices and there are even two temporary holding cells for people who’ve been arrested.

“It’s pretty thorough, it has almost everything. It’s not really a big, big building, but it’s designed after some of our other substations,” County CEO Keith Johns said.

The building was paid for by the county, it cost them just under $500,000 to build, the land it sits on was donated.

County employees though will not be permanently in these offices—instead it will be Navajo Police Officers.

“We’re going to try and man it 24/7,” Cowboy said.

Under an agreement between the county and the Navajo Nation, the county agreed to build the substation if the Navajo Nation PD would staff it and pay for operating costs.

County, state and federal officers will all have access to the substation though because it’s located in what is known as the “checkerboard area” of San Juan County, where state, federal and tribal land crisscross each other.

Cowboy said they are in the process of getting the substation furnished and hiring staff.

“We’re trying to hire people from here so they can work from here, so I think its an incentive for the community itself,” Cowboy said.

He said it will be at least a few weeks before any officers are permanently stationed in Huerfano, but he hopes to start with two officers and build up from there.