A tip to Crime Stoppers has led to the arrest of a Vado man suspected of breaking into and burglarizing at least one vehicle that was parked near a RedBox kiosk.
Damian Bautista, 20, who resides on Bishops Cap Road in Vado, N.M., is charged with one count each of auto burglary, and unauthorized use or theft of a credit card.
Las Cruces Police detectives learned that Bautista was driving a Chevrolet van on Jan. 7, 2017, when, shortly before 5 p.m., he pulled into a parking space near the Redbox kiosk at the McDonald’s restaurant at 1620 El Paseo Rd. Detectives believe Bautista watched as a Redbox customer arrived and briefly left her vehicle unattended. That’s when Bautista allegedly entered the customer’s vehicle and stole her purse.
An ATM card that was inside the stolen purse was later used to fraudulently withdrawal $400.
Detectives learned that Bautista used to work at the McDonald’s restaurant.
After reviewing surveillance video from McDonald’s, detectives learned that Bautista entered a Toyota Tacoma whose driver briefly left unattended while visiting the Redbox. Detectives believe Bautista may have taken something from the Tacoma and are asking the driver to call police if anything was stolen from the pickup.
Bautista was arrested Friday, Jan. 27, and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center with a cash-only bond set at $10,000.
LCPD reminds drivers to roll up windows and lock all doors when leaving a vehicle unattended, whether it’s for a few seconds or several hours. It takes only seconds for a perpetrator to enter an unlocked vehicle and steal valuables.
Information from Las Cruces Police