Cortez Police officers surrounded a home at 402 E. Fourth St. Wednesday in order to apprehend a Farmington, N.M., man who was being sought in connection with the beating death of Larry Maples on Aug. 8.

Troy Pope, 26, was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder after he allegedly beat to death Larry Maples, a 36-year-old man, also from Farmington.

Following a surveillance of the Fourth Street residence, members of the Cortez Emergency Response Team — fully clad in camouflage and bullet-proof vests and carrying automatic weapons — blocked off nearby streets and evacuated homes before making the arrest.

Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane said that three people were taken into custody but thought that two of them were only witnesses.

"We surveyed the house for a couple of hours — they came out of the house and started to walk back towards their pickup and they were arrested around 12:20," Lane said.

Lane said that Farmington police notified the Cortez Police Department on Wednesday that Pope was possibly in the Cortez area.

"They aired the description of the vehicle to us, a blue Chevy pickup truck, and we located it a little while later on Third Street between Harrison and Madison," said Lane.

Lane said that the Emergency Response Team was called into action because Pope was believed to be "more than likely" armed and dangerous.

"We had about eight or nine guys respond and we evacuated some houses just north of where the suspect was in case things went sour," said Lane. "We didn’t want anybody to get hurt."

No weapons or narcotics were found during the arrest.

Farmington Police Detective Sgt. Ken Walker said that on Aug. 8, Farmington police responded to San Juan Regional Hospital, where Maples had been admitted for head injuries.

The report said that Maples had no pulse at the time he was admitted to the hospital but was revived for some time before dying.

Farmington police also responded to 814 Melba Lane in Farmington on Aug. 8, where witnesses said that Pope and another person had driven up to the residence.

Pope then left the vehicle and got into a fist fight with Maples — striking him in the head, witnesses reported. Walker said that Pope had already fled from the scene by the time police arrived.

Reports show that both Maples and Pope have police records for involvement with methamphetamines and a string of other felony charges.

"Right now we are looking into both men’s backgrounds," said Walker on Friday.

As of Friday, Pope was still being held in Montezuma County Jail awaiting transfer to Farmington, a Montezuma County court clerk reported. The clerk did not know the amount of Pope’s bond.