For Immediate Release
March 1, 2023
Tularosa, NM – The New Mexico State Police have arrested Darren Wade Powell, 52, of La Luz, NM for a felony warrant issued by the Albemarle County Police Department in Virginia for criminal sexual penetration of a minor.
The investigation began on February 23, when the New Mexico State Police Fugitive Apprehension Unit (FAU) was contacted by the Tularosa Police Department (TPD). TPD told State Police they had reason to believe that a counselor with the Tularosa Public Schools had a felony warrant out of Virginia.
Once State Police FAU officers confirmed the warrant was valid, they confronted Powell at his residence in La Luz. Powell was cooperative and was taken into custody without incident. He was booked into the Otero County Detention Center, awaiting extradition to Virginia.
For details surrounding the charges and warrant please contact the Albemarle County Police Department in Virginia. For details on how TPD learned Powell was in Tularosa, please contact the Tularosa Police Department.
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