A 20-year-old man and four juveniles are suspected in a string of auto burglaries committed Wednesday evening and Las Cruces police are trying to reunite some of the stolen property with their rightful owners.
Aldo Nava, 20, of the 800 block of Watson Lane in Mesilla Park, is charged with one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a fourth-degree felony, and one count of conspiracy to commit burglary. The juveniles are boys ages, 15, 17 and two 16-year-olds. All four were issued juvenile Class III citations for auto burglary and conspiracy. The three older boys were booked in the juvenile detention facility. The 15-year-old was released to his parents.
About 11 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, a Las Cruces police officer spotted a suspicious vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on Sonoma Ranch Boulevard. The vehicle was driven by the 15-year-old boy. About the same time, police received a report of a possible auto burglary committed on the 7500 block of Vista de Oeste.
Investigators learned Nava and the four teenagers were “car-hopping,” or specifically looking for unlocked vehicles to burglarize. The suspects had in their possession a handgun, rifle and a pellet gun they acknowledged were stolen from unlocked vehicles. They also had several tools and toolboxes that were stolen.
Police do not know where the weapons, tools and toolboxes were stolen from and there have been no burglary reports that identify those items. The five suspects indicated they were burglarizing vehicles all over town and were unable – or unwilling – to divulge where they obtained those items.
Anyone who wishes to file a report on stolen property is encouraged to call police at (575) 526-0795.
Nava was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where he is initially being held without bond.
Information from Las Cruces Police