A routine traffic stop on Roosevelt Avenue led the Grants Police Department to a larger investigation involving a man flagged as “Armed and Dangerous” by Albuquerque Police Department. GPD arrested Geraldo Eleocadio Remigio on multiple charges including Receiving or Transferring Stolen Motor Vehicle, and Child Abuse.
GPD detectives, patrolling the city streets as part of the ENDWI saturation patrol, noticed a Ford F-350 violating driving through a stop sign at the intersection of Roosevelt and Sakelares Boulevard. Police began a traffic stop and met with the driver, identified as Gerardo Eleocadio Remigio, who produced a Matricula Consular ID – a driver’s license from Mexico – card but failed to provide the requisite vehicle documents, stating he had acquired the truck just a day earlier.
According to the report, detectives were concerned when the New Mexico Registration Plate on the vehicle was found expired and the license plate check linked it to a different car. Further inspection of the Ford's Vehicle Identification Number revealed a sticker that appeared to be tampered with. Detectives noticed two young children in the front seat, in the police report detectives note that neither of the children were wearing a seatbelt.
The situation escalated when the Cibola Regional Communication Center informed the detective that the Ford F350 had been reported stolen from the Albuquerque Police Department. An alert associated with the vehicle cautioned that the individuals could be “Armed and Dangerous.”
Upon receiving this information, backup officers arrived and Remegio was asked to step out of the vehicle. Police later found a handgun in the vehicle's floorboard. Police note in their reports that Remegio was showing signs of intoxication: Bloodshot eyes, a smell of alcohol, and his own admission of consuming two Bud Lights earlier in the day raised enough concern for a sobriety test. The field tests indicated significant impairment. A breath test, performed later, revealed alcohol levels of 0.11 g/210L and 0.10 g/210L, exceeding the legal limit of .08.
Officers sealed the vehicle and towed it back to Grants Police Department to await a search warrant. After obtaining the warrant, they found a handgun inside the vehicle’s floorboard.
Officers were able to contact the owner of the stolen vehicle who said she knew Remigio because he worked for her brother who recently passed away. She told police that Remigio was making claims that her brother left him the truck, a claim she contested. A planned rendezvous in Albuquerque, where Padilla intended to reclaim the truck, went sideways when Remigio allegedly didn’t show up and left with the vehicle. The victim also described a handgun that was stolen from her brother, she claimed that Remigio had taken the weapon. According to the report, the description she provided law enforcement matched the handgun police found in the truck.
Remegio was apprehended and taken to Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, New Mexico for incarceration. He was charged with one count of Receiving or Transferring Stolen Motor Vehicles (1st Offense); one count of DWI Driving While Under the Influence of Liquor and/or Drugs (.08 or Above)(1st Offense); one count of Child Abuse - 1st Offense - Third Degree Felony; two counts of Child Not In Restraint Device or Seat Belt; two counts of Improper Use of Evidence of Registration; and one count of Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign.
Remegio had his first appearance in the courtroom of Cibola County Magistrate Judge Johnny Valdez on September 18. He was initially given a $1,000 secured bond, a review of conditions of release will happen on September 21 at 10:30 a.m. and a preliminary examination will be held in this case on September 26 at 1:15 p.m.