Dec. 23—The Albuquerque Police Department released the names of two men reportedly involved in multiple robberies across the city on Sunday, including one shot by police outside an auto parts store in Northeast Albuquerque.
Roberto Perez, 32, of Albuquerque is charged with two counts of armed robbery, two counts of conspiracy and eluding and evading a police officer. Joshua Garcia, 35, of Albuquerque was charged with armed robbery and conspiracy, receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle and eluding or evading an officer.
Garcia is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Perez will be booked when he is released from the hospital, APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said. Garcia is being represented by the public defender’s office, which did not comment due to it being “so early in the case.” It is unclear if Perez has an attorney.
Prosecutors have filed a motion to detain Garcia until trial, saying the lives and safety of store clerks, bystanders and law enforcement officers were endangered because of his conduct.
Police located the getaway vehicle used in the robberies through a license plate reader and identified the suspects through surveillance, according to a criminal complaint filed at Metropolitan Court.
At 12:56 p.m. Sunday, the Albuquerque Police Department responded to a call of an armed robbery at Circle K in the 4700 block of Paseo del Norte, near Jefferson.
An employee told police they saw a man — later identified as Garcia — brandish a firearm at her before taking about $150 cash from the register. The employee told police that a second man — later identified as Perez — then jumped over the counter and took about $500 worth of cigarettes, according to the complaint.
Store surveillance showed the men leave in “what appeared” to be a blue Hyundai Sedan. Police located the vehicle through a license plate reader before issuing a “be on the lookout” (BOLO), the complaint states. Medina said at Sunday night’s press conference that the sedan was believed to be stolen.
At about 1:30 p.m., officers were dispatched to a Verizon store in the 1800 block of Unser, near Ladera. When they arrived, two employees told them that Garcia and Perez entered the store, brandished a firearm then left with about $200 in cash, police said.
At about 4:30 p.m., the Real Time Crime Center found the sedan, Gallegos said. Detectives then followed the vehicle to AutoZone near Claremont and Carlisle where they encountered Garcia and Perez, according to the complaint.
Garcia turned himself in while Perez ran with a handgun in his hand. Two detectives shouted multiple times for Perez to put down his firearm before “shots were fired and Perez was struck in the torso,” Gallegos said. It is unclear if Perez fired at police. He is expected to recover.
The detectives are on paid leave, Gallegos said.
Perez was arrested on Nov. 23 and charged with stealing a vehicle and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer. He was released on personal recognizance and had a court appearance scheduled for Thursday. He was arrested and charged with stealing a vehicle on multiple occasions, including February 2021, when he pleaded guilty and received a suspended sentence, according to court records.
In 2018, Garcia was charged with stealing a vehicle, aggravated assault and battery but the case was dismissed due to the state’s inability to produce pretrial interviews, court records state.
Garcia’s mother, Fredrica Garcia, told the Journal she was heartbroken to hear about his arrest.
“No mother wants to hear this on Christmas,” she said.