Cops arrest 12 burglary suspects in operation
Nico Roesler | The New Mexican
Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2012 - 6/15/12
Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2012 - 6/15/12
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Recent articles by Nico Roesler:
Four days into operation "Full Court Press," Santa Fe police say they have made 12 arrests related to property crimes.
The operation, which began Monday, is a six-month blitz to quell rising burglary numbers in Santa Fe.
In the first week, Lt. Louis Carlos said, the operation has recovered more than $30,000 in stolen property -- mainly jewelry and electronics. He said police have issued 10 arrest warrants in addition to the 12 suspects in custody.
"This operation is way too young to say what the specific cause of this result is," Carlos said. "But mostly it seems to be a collective effect of every unit involved."
Carlos said some of the arrests have led to information on other suspects, which has fed the operation this week.
So far, police have arrested Kenneth Martinez, 24, and Monique Montaño, 21, (who led police on a brief chase last week); Vanity Baca, 25; Paul Salazar, 20; Armando Gutierrez, 27; Josephine Enriquez, 21; Nathan Gonzales, 27; Jeremy Bailey, 23; Adrian Fierro, 21; and three others whose identities were not released because they were still being questioned and were helping officers on other leads, according to Carlos.
Gutierrez and Enriquez were the only two arrested on burglary charges this week. The other people arrested were taken in on several Municipal Court warrants, including failure to appear and failure to comply.
However, all of the individuals who were arrested have property-crime-related charges on their record, according to the Santa Fe County jail website.
Carlos said police are gleaning information from some of the suspects on what exactly they look for when preying on houses or vehicles in Santa Fe.
"These suspects are targeting homes with open windows or open doors," Carlos said. "These thieves are going to go for what's easy first."
Police say that locking all windows and doors, including doggy doors, is one of the easiest ways to deter a burglar.
The 62 burglaries reported just in the first half of May are 10 more than the total for the entire month last year.
Police Chief Ray Rael said earlier this week that the investigations unit is finally fully staffed, and that the department is now able to throw more manpower at the rising burglary numbers.
Contact Nico Roesler at 986-3089 or nroesler@sfnewmexican.com
The operation, which began Monday, is a six-month blitz to quell rising burglary numbers in Santa Fe.
In the first week, Lt. Louis Carlos said, the operation has recovered more than $30,000 in stolen property -- mainly jewelry and electronics. He said police have issued 10 arrest warrants in addition to the 12 suspects in custody.
"This operation is way too young to say what the specific cause of this result is," Carlos said. "But mostly it seems to be a collective effect of every unit involved."
Carlos said some of the arrests have led to information on other suspects, which has fed the operation this week.
So far, police have arrested Kenneth Martinez, 24, and Monique Montaño, 21, (who led police on a brief chase last week); Vanity Baca, 25; Paul Salazar, 20; Armando Gutierrez, 27; Josephine Enriquez, 21; Nathan Gonzales, 27; Jeremy Bailey, 23; Adrian Fierro, 21; and three others whose identities were not released because they were still being questioned and were helping officers on other leads, according to Carlos.
Gutierrez and Enriquez were the only two arrested on burglary charges this week. The other people arrested were taken in on several Municipal Court warrants, including failure to appear and failure to comply.
However, all of the individuals who were arrested have property-crime-related charges on their record, according to the Santa Fe County jail website.
Carlos said police are gleaning information from some of the suspects on what exactly they look for when preying on houses or vehicles in Santa Fe.
"These suspects are targeting homes with open windows or open doors," Carlos said. "These thieves are going to go for what's easy first."
Police say that locking all windows and doors, including doggy doors, is one of the easiest ways to deter a burglar.
The 62 burglaries reported just in the first half of May are 10 more than the total for the entire month last year.
Police Chief Ray Rael said earlier this week that the investigations unit is finally fully staffed, and that the department is now able to throw more manpower at the rising burglary numbers.
Contact Nico Roesler at 986-3089 or nroesler@sfnewmexican.com
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