Advertisement Woman sues Rio Rancho after being mistakenly arrested Officer issued citation to wrong homeowner, who never appeared in court Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A woman with no criminal record is suing the city of Rio Rancho following a mix-up that ended with her behind bars.In June 2015, an officer noticed a home on 4th Avenue SW that had unsightly debris in its yard.But when the officer issued a citation, instead of writing up the homeowner living at the house on 4th Avenue SW, she wrote up the homeowner living at a house with the same number on 4th Avenue NE.The woman who was wrongly cited, who only wanted to be known as Loretta, never received a summons because on the citation her name was coupled with the 4th Avenue SW address.In December 2015, Loretta was pulled over by an officer. The officer said there was a warrant out for Loretta's arrest for failing to appear before a judge.Loretta's attorney, Theresa Hacsi, of the Kennedy Law Firm, said her client had no idea why she was being handcuffed and taken to jail. Loretta was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center, where her mug shot was taken, her clothes were stripped and she was forced to shower.She was released hours later when a family member posted bond."This woman was innocently going about her day and then without warning she's headed to jail and she doesn't understand why," Hacsi said. "That's terrifying."Loretta's case was dismissed when a judge realized that the officer had made a mistake.Hacsi said her client wants to right a wrong but also wants to get down to the bottom of how all of this happened so it doesn't happen again to anyone else."That's a big reason of this lawsuit. Did the officer make a mistake? Was she not given the resources that she needed? That's what we want to answer," Hacsi said.The city of Rio Rancho declined to comment on the lawsuit but confirmed the officer who made the mistake still works for the city.