BURGLARS IN ALBUQUERQUE.
POLICE HAVE COMPLAINED
ABOUT ARRESTING THE SAME
PEOPLE OVER
AND OVER AGAIN.
SO IS A NEW APPROACH --
HELPING TO FIX THAT
PROBLEM? NEWS 13 )S
GABRIELLE BURKHART IS ON
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT.
"...NATS: get your hands
up!..."
TIME AND TIME AGAIN...
"...NAT pop..."
ALBUQUERQUE POLICE ARE
SEEING FAMILIAR FACES.
"...Officer: Did she
give you permission to
take that vehicle?..."
CAREER COPS - ARRESTING
CAREER CRIMINALS.
"...Chief Gorden
Eden/Albuquerque Police
Dept. I mean last
summer, it was, just
seemed like a revolving
door..."
THAT )S A TERM WE )VE
HEARD A-P-D SAY - A LOT.
THE QUOTE "REVOLVING
DOOR" OF JUSTICE.
OR "CATCH AND RELEASE."
"...Officer Fred
Duran/Albuquerque Police
Department we )re
arresting the same
people over and over
again..."
A SUSPECT WITH A LONG
CRIMINAL HISTORY IS
ARRESTED...BOOKED INTO
JAIL...THEN LET BACK OUT
ON THE STREETS. "...it
affects everybody..."
DETECTIVES NOTICED THAT
PATTERN (PARTICULARLY
WITH
PROPERTY CRIME OFFENDERS
-- THE ARMY OF CAR
THIEVES AND BURGLARS
CONSTANTLY PROWLING THE
CITY.
"...Chief Gorden
Eden/Albuquerque Police
Dept. I think there )s
just been a systematic
failure of
the entire system in its
entirety..."
A-P-D CHIEF GORDEN EDEN
SAT DOWN WITH US TO TALK
ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND
WHAT THE DEPARTMENT
HOPES WILL BE A
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
A-P-D AND
NEWLY ELECTED BERNALILLO
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
RAUL TORREZ.
property crimes is one
of the top priorities
for
this administration and
for this office..."
"...we )re reorganizing
this office around a
data-driven approach..."
TO DO THAT WITH LIMITED
RESOURCES -- TORREZ SAYS
HIS OFFICE IS (FOCUSING
ON THE WORST OF THE
WORST -- MAKING SURE
THEIR CASES
DON )T FALL THROUGH THE
CRACKS OR END UP IN
SWEET PLEA DEALS.
THE WORST OF THE WORST
COME FROM A LIST
PROVIDED BY A-P-D. MORE
THAN A DOZEN TOP
PROPERTY CRIME OFFENDERS
WHO )VE
ALL AMASSED LENGTHY
CRIMINAL RECORDS
....SOME OF THEM IN A
SHORT
AMOUNT OF TIME..
TAKE DAN HOFFERT
...COURT RECORDS SHOW
NEARLY A DOZEN FELONY
CASES AGAINST HIM IN
2016 (ALONE.
MOSTLY FOR BREAKING INTO
CARS OR STEALING THEM.
BUT MANY OF THOSE
CHARGES WERE "DISMISSED
BY THE PROSECUTOR" ...
BEFORE TORREZ CAME INTO
at last count there was
nearly 8-thousand..."
"...we )ve got
100-attorneys, we screen
about 25- thousand cases
a year - in addition to
that backlog of
8-thousand..."
MORE THAN FIVE THOUSAND
OF THOSE BACKLOGGED
CASES - TORREZ
SAYS - FALL UNDER
PROPERTY AND DRUG
CRIMES.
"...NATS: Judge: all
rise..."
BUT THE RESPONSIBILITY
OF BUILDING STRONGER
CASES AND FOLLOWING
THROUGH FOR CONVICTIONS
- CHIEF EDEN ADMITS -
ALSO FALLS ON HIS
have been sent to the
auto theft detectives
with some follow-up, but
maybe not enough. So now
what we )ve done is we )ve
taken that to bring
everybody together ..."
SINCE TORREZ TOOK OFFICE
- CHIEF EDEN SAYS
THERE )S BEEN A D-A
PRESENCE (EACH ( WEEK AT
A-P-D )S CRIME ANALYSIS
MEETINGS. WHERE POLICE
DETECTIVES, MEMBERS FROM
BERNALILLO COUNTY
SHERIFF )S OFFICE, THE
ALBUQUERQUE FIRE
DEPARTMENT (AND THE
F-B-I NOW SHARE
INFORMATION TO BUILD
after the person who )s
committing all these
crimes, rather than
looking at them as
individual cases..."
"...Raúl Torrez the
whole purpose of impact
prosecution is to take
them out of this
community..." A-P-D SAYS
ITS ALREADY SEEING
RESULTS.
"...Officer: Why the
life of crime? Hoffert:
Honestly it )s not even
the life, it )s f ( (
bull ( ( (
"...Officer: Why the
life of crime? Hoffert:
Honestly it )s not even
the life, it )s f ( (
bull ( ( ( AFTER MONTHS OF
COURT CASES GOING
NOWHERE --
DAN HOFFERT WAS FINALLY
SENTENCED JUST THIS
MONTH TO TEN YEARS IN
PRISON FOR HIS CONSTANT
CRIMES.
"...nats: all kinds of
different keys..."
POLICE FOUND HOFFERT
KEPT A HANDFUL OF SHAVED
KEYS USED TO
STEAL CARS.
ALSO ON THE LIST OF TOP
TROUBLEMAKERS - HENRY
SARRACINO AND GILBERT
ANDERSON WERE EACH
SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS
FOR PROPERTY CRIMES.
ERIC ARELLANO AND LAILA
LOGAN WILL SERVE THREE
YEARS. AND JEROME BUTLER
FACES UP TO
11-AND-A-HALF YEARS FOR
PROPERTY CRIMES...AND
BEING A FELON WITH A
GUN. LONGER PRISON
SENTENCES - POLICE ARGUE
- CAN MEAN A BREAK IN
BURGLARIES FOR
ALBUQUERQUE...PLU S TIME
FOR THE CRIMINALS TO GET
CLEAN.
CHIEF EDEN SAYS SEEING
THESE RESULTS IN COURT
HAS BOOSTED MORALE AMONG
judges can make a
better,
informed decision
because we )re looking at
the person and not a
single incident..."
ALTHOUGH HIS OFFICE
CAN )T PROSECUTE EVERY
CASE AT ONCE --
TORREZ VOWS HE )LL START
AT THE TOP AND WORK HIS
WAY DOWN. BUT KEEPING
CAREER CRIMINALS OFF THE
STREETS - IS A START.
"...Raúl Torrez people
deserve to live in a
system to you know hold
folks accountable..." ON
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT,
GABRIELLE BURKHART, KRQE
NEWS 13.
A-P-D SAYS WE MAY START
SEEING MORE FEDERAL
SENTENCING IN SOME OF
THESE CASES.
YOU CAN FIND THE FULL
LIST OF ALBUQUERQUE )S
TOP PROPERTY CRIME
OFFENDERS AND THE STATUS
OF THEIR CASES...ONLINE
AT KRQE DOT COM AND THE
KRQE NEWS APP.
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