Alleged Electric Company Work Truck Burglar Arrested In Carlsbad, NM
By: Dylan Brooks
Updated: March 1, 2013
CARLSBAD, NM -- Carlsbad (NM) Police have arrested a man accused of stealing an electric company work truck and the tools in it.
Danny Mendes was arrested on February 27th.
Police say that Mendes, 46, broke in to the yard at Murrill Electric (5319 Sierra Vista Drive) around 10:40 PM on February 22nd.
Mendes reportedly cut padlocks and fences and entered the nearby Bird Electric yard.
Mendes was then allegedly caught on surveillance video driving out of the Bird Electric yard in a white Chevrolet work truck around 11 PM on February 22nd.
The stolen vehicle -- which belonged to Bird Electric -- also had an attached crane and various tools (which are worth $20,000) on board.
Police found out about the heist around 3:30 AM on February 23rd, and officers found the stolen truck abandoned at a rest stop on U.S. 62-180 between the Guadalupe Pass and the Texas-New Mexico state line.
However, the crane and tools had reportedly been stolen from the vehicle.
Police and Bird Electric representatives tracked the path of the recovered truck using a G.P.S. device installed on it on February 23rd.
The G.P.S. led police to a shot and camp trailer at 7418 Conestoga Road.
Officers executed a search warrant at the shop, and they reportedly found the missing crane and tools inside.
On February 24th, the owner of the shop -- Raymundo Nunez -- reportedly told officers that Mendes had borrowed his shop over the weekend.
Mendes allegedly later confessed to the crime.
Now, Mendes is charged with larceny over $20,000, commercial burglary, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and injuring or tampering of a motor vehicle.
Danny Mendes was arrested on February 27th.
Police say that Mendes, 46, broke in to the yard at Murrill Electric (5319 Sierra Vista Drive) around 10:40 PM on February 22nd.
Mendes reportedly cut padlocks and fences and entered the nearby Bird Electric yard.
Mendes was then allegedly caught on surveillance video driving out of the Bird Electric yard in a white Chevrolet work truck around 11 PM on February 22nd.
The stolen vehicle -- which belonged to Bird Electric -- also had an attached crane and various tools (which are worth $20,000) on board.
Police found out about the heist around 3:30 AM on February 23rd, and officers found the stolen truck abandoned at a rest stop on U.S. 62-180 between the Guadalupe Pass and the Texas-New Mexico state line.
However, the crane and tools had reportedly been stolen from the vehicle.
Police and Bird Electric representatives tracked the path of the recovered truck using a G.P.S. device installed on it on February 23rd.
The G.P.S. led police to a shot and camp trailer at 7418 Conestoga Road.
Officers executed a search warrant at the shop, and they reportedly found the missing crane and tools inside.
On February 24th, the owner of the shop -- Raymundo Nunez -- reportedly told officers that Mendes had borrowed his shop over the weekend.
Mendes allegedly later confessed to the crime.
Now, Mendes is charged with larceny over $20,000, commercial burglary, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and injuring or tampering of a motor vehicle.
