By Phaedra Haywood
The Santa Fe New Mexican
SANTA FE, N.M. 鈥� A Santa Fe firefighter placed on paid leave amid an internal investigation in August resigned Friday, a city spokesperson confirmed.
Jesse Flores had worked for the city since 2006 and was named an emergency medical services captain in 2021 before being demoted in recent years. He was placed on leave Aug. 11 , spokesperson Regina Ruiz said.
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She declined to disclose why he was placed on leave but claimed it was unrelated to The New Mexican鈥檚 inquiry 鈥� that same day 鈥� into a 2024 criminal case in which Flores was accused of attempting to sell Suboxone to an undercover narcotics task force agent. Suboxone is used to treat opiate addiction and is also a heavily trafficked drug.
According to Flores, however, the disciplinary action was directly tied to the case 鈥� rather, it was due to his failure to report it to city officials.
Flores said in an interview on Tuesday the city鈥檚 disciplinary process is 鈥渧ery secretive,鈥� so he wasn鈥檛 sure at first why he was being placed on leave. He resigned after he was eventually provided with paperwork notifying him the city was contemplating terminating him because he didn鈥檛 disclose the criminal case, he added. He declined to discuss the case further.
Ruiz told The New Mexican last month the city didn鈥檛 know about the case until the newspaper inquired about it. The case was resolved through the District Attorney鈥檚 Office鈥檚 Pre-Prosecution Diversion Program, which called for Flores to undergo substance abuse treatment and perform community service.
Court documents show Flores鈥� ex-wife, Erica Montano 鈥� an employee in the city Human Resources Department 鈥� had knowledge of the criminal case and had filed a motion asking the court to seal parts of the couple鈥檚 divorce file in August to keep details of what she alleged was a fairly recent incident from becoming public.
Flores and Montano married in 2017 and divorced in 2021, according to online court records.
Montano wrote in an Aug. 1 motion to seal the documents that Flores 鈥渟truggles with various forms of addiction鈥� that resulted in 鈥渁 court proceeding based on an undercover investigation, the loss of his paramedic license, and demotion based on using his public official position.鈥�
He had recently 鈥減articipated in similar repeated behavior involving employer resources,鈥� she alleged, and she feared 鈥渢his could become public,鈥� putting their children in 鈥渁 compromised position due to his employment.鈥�
The motion included the state District Court case number for Flores鈥� criminal case.
Montano declined through her attorney to comment for this story.
Ruiz declined to comment on the allegations in the motion or to directly answer questions about whether Montano had notified the city about Flores鈥� criminal case, noting the city 鈥渃annot comment on personnel matters.鈥�
鈥� Ms. Montano is a highly valued member of the HR Department staff, working as an HR Organizational Development Manager,鈥� Ruiz wrote in an emailon Tuesday.
She initially resisted The New Mexican鈥檚 attempts to confirm Montano鈥檚 position, writing in an email the inquiry 鈥渕ay be slander and libelous.鈥�
In response to questions about Flores鈥� employment, Ruiz wrote that city officials did a 鈥渄eep dive鈥� into issues presented in media questions related to his case and had no reason to believe he had ever reported for duty under the influence of drugs.
The city also verified its Suboxone inventory and found 鈥渘one of the medication is missing or unaccounted for currently or historically,鈥� she added.
Ruiz said the city follows a pharmacy control protocol with security measures including cameras, sign-out procedures, chain of custody, tracking measures of each substance and routine inventory.
Emergency medical technician licenses are renewed every two years, and 鈥淓MTs are background checked every four years by the State,鈥� according to Ruiz.
鈥淢r. Flores鈥� background was checked in August 2024 by the State and it came back clear. This includes fingerprinting and documentation submitted to State Police,鈥� she wrote.
The criminal charges against Flores 鈥� attempted distribution of a controlled substance and tampering with evidence 鈥� which arose out of an alleged incident in 2023, had already been filed in two courts by then. The Santa Fe County Sheriff鈥檚 Office initially filed the case in January 2024 in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court; they were then bound over for prosecution in state District Court in July 2024, online court records show.
Ruiz said city firefighters and emergency medical service providers undergo random and 鈥渞easonable suspicion鈥� drug testing but said she was 鈥渓ooking into鈥� whether the date and results of Flores last test could be released.
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