• John Ensor is accused of crashing head-on into another car near Dexter, killing two girls, on April 4, 2021
• He waived a preliminary hearing • The district court arraignment is set for 9 a.m., May 17 in Roswell • Ensor is being held without bail pending trial after being found a danger to the community
ROSWELL, N.M. —John Ensor‘s vehicular homicide case, for the fiery deaths of two Dexter girls after he allegedly crashed head-on into them while driving drunk or high, was moved to district court after Ensor waived a preliminary hearing.
John Ensor
Fifth Judicial District Attorney’s Office prosecutor Taylor Jaggers filed the criminal information on April 28, 2021, charging Ensor, 33, of Roswell, with the same seven charges levied in magistrate court: two counts of DWI vehicular homicide and one count each of possession of a controlled substance: methamphetamine, driving on a license revoked for DWI, overtaking on the left, driving an unregistered vehicle and no insurance.
Ensor’s waiver does not state if he received any benefit or consideration from the prosecutor for waiving the hearing.
His arraignment is set for 9 a.m., May 17 in Roswell at the Chaves County Courthouse.
Ebywrote in an affidavit for a criminal complaint that, on April 4, 2021, Ensor was trying to pass multiple vehicles on State Road 2 near Crockett Yard Road in Dexter, when he crashed head-on into the Ford Focus driven by Danae Sosa, 17. Her sister, Darely, 12, was in the car with her.Eby wrote, based on an investigation by State Police Officer Marcus Gonzales, that multiple witnesses said after the crash, the sisters were unconscious and trapped in the car, which soon burst into flames. Officers found a syringe of alleged heroin and methamphetamine on the floorboard of his car.
“Witnesses reportedly attempted to extract Danae and Darely Sosa from their vehicle before it engulfed in flames but were unable to do so due to the amount of damage their vehicle sustained,” Eby wrote.
Ensor was initially released, once he got out of the hospital, and ordered to appear for a future court appearance. Prosecutors then filed to have him held in jail until trial and at an April 16 hearing, District Judge Thomas Lilley found a danger to the community.
In an order outlining his reasoning filed on April 22, Lilley wrote that Ensor has “established a pattern and practice of dangerous driving,” based on the homicide case as well as two prior drunk driving convictions.
Danae Sosa was a senior at Dexter High school and also attended the Goddard High School. She was part of the volleyball and track teams her freshman and sophomore years, according to her obituary.
“She enjoyed working out, shopping, thrifting, and spending time with family and friends. Her favorite things to do were playing Call of Duty, taking selfies, and listening to music,” according to her obituary.
Darely Sosa was a sixth-grade student at Dexter Middle School. In the fifth grade at Washington Avenue Elementary School, she was the vice president of her class and always on the honor roll, according to her obituary.
“Darely was a loving and compassionate person who enjoyed spending time with her sisters. She enjoyed reading, writing in her journal, playing Call of Duty, eating, and watching Anime. Darely was creative when it came to editing videos and photos, she always looked forward to it,” according to her obituary.
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Charges: Two counts of DWI vehicular homicide and one count each of possession of a controlled substance: methamphetamine, driving on a license revoked for DUI, overtaking on the left, driving an unregistered vehicle and no insurance.
Status: Pending in district court
Sentence: n/a
Incident Location: State Road 2 near Crockett Yard Road near Roswell
On April 4, 2021, while trying to pass multiple vehicles on State Road 2 near Crockett Yard Road, John Ensor, 33, allegedly crashed into an oncoming car driven by Danae Sosa, 17. Her sister, Darely Sosa, 12, was in the front seat. Their car was soon engulfed in flames, with the two unconscious girls inside, despite witness attempts to get them out of their badly damaged vehicle, according to court documents.
Ensor was then charged with two counts of DUI vehicular homicide after police found a syringe of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the Oldsmobile Bravada he drove. After initially being released on his own recognizance while he was still in the hospital, prosecutor Sarah Jean Grew asked he be held without bail pending trial. District Judge Thomas Lilley ordered he be held without bail pending trial following a hearing on April 16, 2021 where he took testimony from investigators.
On April 22, Ensor waived a preliminary hearing and prosecutors filed a criminal information charging him with two counts of vehicular homicide on April 28, 2021.
On April 4, 2021, around 2:30 p.m., John Ensor, 33, of Roswell, allegedly tried to pass multiple vehicles on State Road 2, near Crockett Yard Road, when he crashed his Oldsmobile Bravada head-on into a 2009 Ford Focus driven by Danae Sosa, 17, State Police Officer Trent Eby wrote in an affidavit for a criminal complaint.
Eby wrote, based on an investigation by State Police Officer Marcus Gonzales, that multiple witnesses said after the crash, Danae Sosa and sister Darely Sosa, 12, of Dexter, were unconscious and trapped in the car, which soon burst into flames.
John Ensor
“Witnesses reportedly attempted to extract Danae and Darely Sosa from their vehicle before it engulfed in flames but were unable to do so due to the amount of damage their vehicle sustained,” Eby wrote.
Eby wrote that by the time he arrived, the Focus was severely burned and heavily damaged and the bodies of both girls were still inside. Gonzales told Eby that he found a “loaded syringe” with what he assumed to be heroin on the front floorboard of the Bravada. By the time Eby arrived, Ensor was being transported to the Eastern New Mexico Medical Center. Gonzales told him he believed Ensor may have been drunk or high at the time of the crash.
A day later a “TruNarc” test showed the syringe to be filled with a “fentanyl compound and/or methamphetamines,” he wrote.
Unidentified “ambulance personnel” told Eby at the hospital that Ensor said he was drinking in Cloudcroft earlier in the day, Eby wrote.
Eby wrote he found the syringe where Gonzales said it was and another officer. Austin Wilson, volunteered to collect it as evidence. He then drove to the hospital where Ensor was taken. Ensor was intubated and unconscious, with a breathing tube down his throat. Eby read the unconscious Ensor the state’s implied consent law and received no response and then had his blood drawn.
Eby wrote that Ensor’s sport-utility vehicle’s registration was expired and had no insurance and according to a National Crime Information Center, or NCIC, query, Ensor’s driver’s license was suspended for drunk driving and he had two prior drunk driving convictions.
Two days later, Eby filed a criminal complaint charging Ensor with two counts of DUI vehicular homicide and one count each of possession of a controlled substance: methamphetamine, driving on a license revoked for DUI, overtaking on the left, driving an unregistered vehicle and no insurance.
In an order holding Ensor without bail pending trial filed on April 22, District Judge Thomas Lilleywrote that Ensor’s girlfriend, Margaret Briggs, told Ensor’s uncle and “another” that she was drinking with him earlier in the day and that she felt guilty for letting him drive, instead of driving him herself. Cloudcroft, where he told ambulance personnel he had been drinking, is two hours from the crash site.
Released on own recognizance
On April 6, the day Eby filed the criminal complaint charging Ensor, Roswell Magistrate Judge E. J. Fouratt ordered Ensor released on his own recognizance once he was released from the hospital and ordered him to contact the magistrate court within 72 hours of being released. He also ordered Ensor to appear in the magistrate court on April 26 for a court hearing.
Prosecutors move for indefinite detention
A day after Eby filed the charges against Ensor, Fifth Judicial District Attorney’s Office prosecutor Sarah Jean Grew filed an expedited motion for pre-trial detention, to keep Ensor in jail indefinitely, without bail, pending trial.
She wrote that as evidence was Ensor’s previous two convictions for drunk driving, the weight of evidence in the case against him and various shoplifting and theft-related cases. In his second drunk driving case, from May 7, 2020, he drove his car over a curb and when police arrived, he was slumped over the wheel. He pleaded guilty in that case in August 2020.
“Defendant has an extensive criminal history in New Mexico that clearly belies an ongoing, serious substance abuse issue,” Grew wrote. “Tragically, his addiction has now led to the death of two young girls.”
Grew wrote that Ensor does not “respect or comply with court orders” and cited his multiple probation violations, being arrested while on probation, his failure to appear at court hearings and his failure to pay fines.
Although Grew cites Ensor’s failure to pay court fines, she also wrote that he has a “serious substance abuse issue.” She did not write how someone with a “serious substance abuse issue” would be able to pay court fines and fees.
Grew wrote that Ensor continuously fails to appear for court and lumped his non-appearances into his failure to pay what could be problematic fines and fees.
“The defendant has six failures to appear and pay in his past, as well as multiple probation violations,” she wrote.
Warrant issued after court no-show on April 12, 2021
According to minutes from that hearing, an attorney appeared filling in for William Waggoner, Ensor’s attorney. Lilley issued the warrant after finding Ensor did not appear.
The court minutes do not state if Waggoner had been in contact with Ensor, if anyone confirmed he was released from the hospital or if he had been told about the hearing.
Lilley said, according to the minutes, he would set a pre-trial detention hearing once Ensor was arrested on the warrant.
Held without bail pending trial
Although no warrant return was entered into the court record, a hearing on the motion to hold Ensor without bail was scheduled on April 14 for April 16, 2021.
A preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m., April 23.
Danae and Darely Sosa
Danae, 17, and Darely Sosa, 12, also known by the last name Sosa-Zubia, were both born in Phoenix, Ariz., to Manuel Aaron Sosa Marquez and Iveth Sosa Zubia. They lived in Dexter.
Darely Sosa is referred to in court documents as Daraly Sosa.
Danae Sosa was a senior at Dexter High school and also attended the Goddard High School. She was part of the volleyball and track teams her freshman and sophomore years, according to her obituary.
“She enjoyed working out, shopping, thrifting, and spending time with family and friends,” according to her obituary. “Her favorite things to do were playing Call of Duty, taking selfies, and listening to music.”
Danae Sosa was fun, outgoing and vivacious and she “dearly loved” being part of the Dance of the Matachines.
“When you think of Danae, celebrate the good memories you have of her,” according to her obituary. “Remember that life is fragile and short and should be lived to the fullest.”
Sister Darely Sosa was a sixth-grade student at Dexter Middle School. In the fifth grade at Washington Avenue Elementary School, she was the vice president of her class and always on the honor roll, according to her obituary.
“Darely was a loving and compassionate person who enjoyed spending time with her sisters,” according to her obituary. “She enjoyed reading, writing in her journal, playing Call of Duty, eating, and watching Anime. Darely was creative when it came to editing videos and photos, she always looked forward to it. ”
Darely was outgoing and enjoyed being in the Dance of the Matachines.
“Darely will be remembered for her uniqueness and the way she could captivate people and their hearts,” according to her obituary.
Both girls are survived by their parents, sister Debany Sosa and grandparents Emilia Berzoza Valles, Maria Sosa Marquez and Jesus Navarette.
Darely Sosa is also survived by her precious pets, Boots the cat and Lucky the dog.
Danae Sosa is also survived by her pets Cyder and Moonia.
