MILAN, N.M. – On September 28 a woman in the Village of Milan arrived at her house to find it burgled, hundreds of rounds in ammunition were missing from her home. Noticing this, she contacted Milan Police Department who investigated the case and with quick turnaround was able to arrest Rosario Gonzales for the crime.
Officers credit the victim’s record keeping and video surveillance inside the home for their ability to quickly catch the alleged perpetrator. According to MPD, the victim had kept a log of all the ammunition she had, with receipts for every single box she had purchased. With the receipts, MPD was able to establish a dollar figure on the amount of property stolen and are charging Gonzales with felony larceny.
The victim had “every precaution any American who owns guns should have,” according to MPD Sergeant Joe Galindo. This includes a gun safe, and legal documentation for all of the items in her possession. According to MPD, Gonzales had left a personal item in the victim’s house and had asked for permission to return to the home and retrieve it. Watching the victim’s security camera footage gave MPD a timeline of when the alleged theft occurred.
Sgt. Galindo began to gather in formation for a search warrant to Gonzales’ house when Gonzales waved down the sergeant. Sgt. Galindo and Gonzales went to the police station and arrested him on violation of conditions for his parole.
A popular Grants, N.M., pawnshop, Papa’s Pawn, had recently purchased a large amount of ammunition from Gonzales. MPD became aware of the purchase and Chief Carl Ustupski travelled to the pawn shop to check it out. After working with Papa’s Pawn and the Grants Police Department, MPD was able to determine that Gonzales had sold the ammunition he allegedly took from the victim to the pawnshop. Using surveillance footage from both the victim and the pawnshop, MPD was able to charge Gonzales for the burglary.
Grants Police Department is now investigating the alleged sale of stolen goods to Papa’s Pawn.
Milan Police Department is charging Gonzales with felony larceny and residential burglary.
“Video surveillance saved us on this one,” Sgt. Galindo said, “This would have been a tough case to fight.”
Milan Police Department would like to thank all partners who assisted in this investigation, including Adult Probation and Parole Office, Grants Police Department, and Papa’s Pawn. MPD would like to thank the victim for her diligence and record keeping which helped cement their case.