GRANTS, NM – Police were dispatched to the Grants Apartments on Cordova Court in Grants, New Mexico, on June 22 after a call came in claiming men with firearms, wearing ski masks, were trying to break into apartment buildings. Police arrived as quick as they could, arresting three juvenile and one man, Juanito Quintana, 21, for Attempting to Commit a Felony, the other three teens will be charged but were not incarcerated despite fulfilling the legal requirement for incarceration because all juvenile detention centers were at maximum capacity.
Around 4 a.m., Cibola County Regional Dispatch was contacted by the McKinley Metro Dispatch Center, they had a caller who was claiming that four masked men were carrying firearms and trying to break into his and other people’s apartments. According to the caller, this had been ongoing for at least 10 minutes.
Just minutes before, Grants Police Department officers were clearing two disturbance calls made just up the street on Dona Avenue. Police were unable to locate suspects in what they called “verbal disturbances.”
Police quickly made their way to Cordova Court, because the caller claimed the suspects were “Armed and dangerous”, officers drew their firearms as they arrived on scene. Two officers arrived on scene, they split up, one officer went east while the other went west.
On the West side, a Grants Police Sergeant announced his presence and declared that he was with the police. A door swung open near the officer, a suspect wearing a ski mask emerged and complied with commands to fall to the ground.
The suspect informed the sergeant there was a pair of scissors in his back pocket. The sergeant retrieved the scissors and removed it. The suspect took off their ski mask and was identified by police as a 16-year-old juvenile. Because of the suspect’s age, their identity is redacted in official records.
A GPD sergeant on the east side of the complex was approached by a shirtless man who identified himself as Juanito Quintana, born in 2002. Quintana told law enforcement that he was part of the ring of teenagers that caused the 911 call. He informed police there were a total of four members in their group. GPD called for reinforcements to help search the property and placed both the suspect and Quintana in handcuffs. Police later found a ski mask stuffed in Quintana’s jean pants.
At this point, an older man runs up to police, informing them that two masked people had just tried breaking into his apartment. The victim informed police that he had made the 911 call, according to official reports, he was belligerent with law enforcement.
Officers went to the man’s front door where they found a pair of scissors with blue handles and a large hand-made machete. They noticed the window screen had been cut open, but the glass was not broken. Sergeants observed that the frame of the window had been pushed inward. As police were investigating the window, two teenagers ran past them.
Police were able to quickly detain the teenagers, discovering masks on the remaining two suspects. The two suspects were detained by officers, they were both later identified as 13-yearold juveniles. As the suspects were detained, the victim approached law enforcement and began to make racist remarks about the suspects. According to police reports, GPD informed the victim that if he did not remove himself from the area, he would be charged with interfering in a police investigation.
Police detained the two suspects and escorted them to their police vehicles. All four suspects were now under arrest. As police were investigating the alleged crime, they spoke with Quintana who allegedly told police he was the mastermind of this invasion. Official police records quote Quintana as speaking with police about the juvenile suspects, “Don’t charge them please,” adding, “I told them to do it”, before finally telling police that he was “Just being stupid”.
During the course of their investigation, police found Quintana’s shirt, buried in the complex next to a knife.
Grants Police Department alerted the Juvenile Probation Office and worked with them to determine that there was enough evidence to charge these juveniles. However, the officer alerted officers that there was no space in juvenile detention to hold the minors. The three minors were released to their guardians and will face charges.
Quintana was arrested by GPD and charged with Attempt to Commit a Felony. Quintana has been charged with Attempt to Commit a Felony, to wit: Aggravated Burglary (Deadly Weapon); one count of Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery; and three counts of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.