Bernalillo County sheriff catches shoplifter in the act on his day off
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — What was a routine shopping trip for Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen and his wife Friday night quickly escalated after three people tried stealing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise right in front of them.
“I was excited to come home from a long day of work, and my wife and I were going to shop for a yoga mat and a pair of shoes, and that didn’t happen,” Allen explained.
Even off duty, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) is demonstrating its commitment to tackling retail crime: a recent social media post showed BCSO’s sheriff holding down a man he said he saw shoplifting while he was out with his wife.
According to the sheriff, he was out running errands when he saw the three attempting to steal from the Dick’s Sporting Goods warehouse off of Ellison and Coors.
“While I was walking in, I saw a couple [of] subjects walk in, and I then I kind of went into, cop mode per se, so I kind of kept an eye on them, and I saw what they were doing,” Allen said.
Their actions raised red flags for him: “I went to the back of the store, and I witnessed one, or two, filling in duffel bags, so I knew he had the intent, so I backed up, cleared the area out a little bit, and I confronted the gentleman and told him to put the stuff back,” Allen stated.
According to BCSO, two of them dropped the stuff they were trying to steal and left. The other, later identified as 23-year-old Antonio Oros, did not. After arguing with Allen, he reportedly tried to run. According to the criminal complaint, Oros got physical with Allen, hitting him twice.
“So, a foot pursuit ensued inside the store, and luckily, I don’t know who it was, or there was another citizen in a grey shirt, I thank him. He cut him off for me before he got outside, and I took him down and tackled him, and this gentleman pursued to have an altercation with me, so immediately I went into defensive tactics mode,” Allen said.
They called in help, and Oros was handcuffed and taken in. As it turns out, he had two felony warrants out already for narcotics and resisting and evading police.
“People are tired of it, including me. As the sheriff in Bernalillo County and a law enforcement officer, I can’t sit there and watch a crime occur in front of me and just let it go,” he said.
“Look, I could become angry. I could become mad, but if you see in the photos, it’s about de-escalating also, and that’s what I was doing with the gentleman when I back control with him.”
The sheriff said while they’re working to crack down on retail and drug-related crime like this, there’s still a long way to go. They hope newly enacted retail crime laws will help.
“We can’t see that people feel unsafe here. [We] can’t even shop with their families for back-to-school supplies for clothes and shoes. I’m not going to have it; I’m not going to stand for it.”
Oros has nearly a dozen drug-related offenses on his rap sheet. Had the sheriff not stopped him, he would have made off with nearly $600 worth of merchandise.
Source: KRQE News 13
