SOUTH FORK—The South Fork Police Department has been working non-stop over the summer and have successfully made just over nine arrests in a very short period of time. “We have been so busy this summer, it has been both a good and bad month. Anytime we are busy, it usually doesn’t happen when good things are going on,” said South Fork Police Chief Coty Arthur.
During the month of July, Arthur and his team made headway in several open cases they have been pursuing for months. The main incident that occurred happened in Del Norte when officers from Del Norte Police Department, SFPD, Center Police, Colorado State Patrol and Rio Grande Sheriff were able to execute two arrest warrants for Steven Flores and Wendy Montoya.
In addition to the arrest warrants out of Del Norte, the department has also arrested William Kurps for a domestic violence charge, executed two arrest warrants out of South Fork for Nathan Dick and Jason Hill as well as warrants for James Johnson for a violation of a protection order, Richard Medina for felony menacing and Joseph Wallace for domestic violence. The department has also made other arrests in the past few weeks that are still under investigation.
“It has been busy and it has been hard to keep up with everyday business, but the good news is that we are out there doing our job and helping to make the community a better place. We continue to reach out to the South Fork community to increase communication and gain trust,” said Arthur.
Over the last several days, officers have been participating in two training exercises that have included certification in taser usage and hand-on-hand combat. “We are continuing to keep our officers up to date on all of the most recent training exercises and are pleased to announce that the newest officer Lucas Brown is now a certified South Fork police officer,” said Arthur.
As the summer comes to a close and the busy season begins to slow down, Arthur hopes to focus on the new renovations that he is preparing to start at the South Fork office. “We recently got a new desk and chairs and as soon as the town maintenance crews are available, we will begin moving the evidence locker to another secure location. I am updating everything including new bullet-proof vests from AR500 that will be much better armor than what we currently have. The safety of our officers is my main priority,” finished Arthur.