Crime of Opportunity

MILAN, N.M. – During the nighttime and into the early morning of September 16, Ortega’s Propane in the Village of Milan was robbed. Milan Police Department has already made an arrest in this investigation and is working to recover the stolen tools and items that were taken from the business. MPD has made it clear that they will not stand for burglaries in the village, and are actively taking steps to slow and stop burglaries by increasing their visibility and doing more business checks.

Milan Police Department responded to Ortega’s Propane around 10:45 a.m. after being alerted by Cibola Regional Dispatch that the business had been burglarized. That morning, as employees went to open the shop, they noticed a garage door slightly ajar. Upon further inspection, they realized several tools had been missing. They noticed that the main safe had been moved, and the secondary safe was completely missing.

Staff checked their security footage and found crisp, clear footage of the assailant, whom employees recognized. When MPD’s Sergeant Joe Galindo arrived on scene and reviewed the footage, he also recognized the alleged robber as Reynaldo Tafoya Jr.

During the investigation, police were able to identify Tafoya as the alleged burglar, and determined that he entered the building by forceful means.

Sgt. Galindo ran a check on Tafoya and found out that he had two warrants from the US Marshall’s Service from a probation violation from an earlier robbery. MPD then went ahead and drafted an arrest warrant for Tafoya, after getting the warrant approved through the Cibola County Magistrate Court, Grants Police Department arrested Tafoya on September 16. Sgt. Galindo later went to the Cibola County Correctional Cen- ter where he filed the burglary charges.

In the footage, Tafoya can allegedly be seen taking tools and moving around the safes. According to MPD, this appears to have been a crime of opportunity. Tafoya was working at Ortega’s Propane just days earlier, and had the chance to learn where the tools and safes were being stored.

Sgt. Galindo said that MPD is actively working on finding and returning the stolen items to Ortega’s Propane.

A string of burglaries is plaguing Cibola County, with Milan seeing three burglaries since Friday, September 16. This is a spike in crime for the village, a spike that MPD is actively working to counter. Police visibility is begin increased, along with business checks. Of the three burglaries, MPD has already arrested one alleged burglar and has suspects in the other incidents.

“We will not stand that king of crime in the village,” Sgt. Galindo said. Tafoya has a long rap sheet including other robberies and burglaries. Until proven guilty in a court of law by a jury of his peers, Tafoya is considered innocent and all allegations against him are merely allegations.