GRANTS, N.M. – Grants Police Department police officer Matthew Sylvester put his deduction skills to the test on November 11. He discovered that Devin Nelwood, 23, had allegedly attempted to steal a motorized shopping cart from Smith’s Grocery Store on Roosevelt Avenue in Grants, New Mexico. Nelwood was booked into Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, New Mexico and is scheduled to see Magistrate Judge Larry Diaz on December 14.
At 4:16 p.m. on Nov. 11 Officer Sylvester was dispatched to Smith’s Grocery Store in relation to a stolen motorized shopping cart. According to a GPD report, these motorized carts can cost around $2,800 each. As he was driving to Smith’s, Officer Sylvester noticed a man driving a motorized cart just off of the county property which Smith’s sits on. The officer, in a marked patrol car, lit up his emergency lights and went to speak with the man.
Nelwood allegedly told the officer that a group of people had threatened to kill him while he was inside of Smith’s. Two more police officers arrived and assisted in detaining Nelwood and delivering the cart back to the store. Working with the store’s staff, Officer Sylvester discovered that a man had only recently taken off from the store with a motorized cart, and that he was headed in the direction GPD intercepted Nelwood.
A witness who had seen Nelwood leave the property with the motorized cart was able to work with police to identify Nelwood as the man who allegedly took the cart. This information came in handy as the store was unable to access its surveillance footage at the time; with Nelwood identified as the alleged suspect, Officer Sylvester was able to arrest him and take him to GPD for processing.
While in the police station Nelwood allegedly said that he only took the cart because his life was being threatened by three “Mexican” men. According to the report, Nelwood said this incident occurred by the cash registers. When asked why these men were threatening him, Nelwood said it was because he was a Native American, and the only reason he hopped on the cart was to make the men think he was mentally handicapped so they would leave him alone. Nelwood said that he was followed by the men in a blue Chevvy pickup truck, and that they threatened to kill him once again.
While incarcerated, Officer Sylvester could better smell alcohol on Nelwood who admitted to having “two shooters” at 3 p.m. Officer Sylvester inquired further about the alleged threats made to Nelwood, and explained that when in that kind of situation, the best thing to do is stay in the store and call 911.
Smith’s later informed GPD that the estimated cost of one Amigo ValueShopper electric shopping cart is $2,800. Nelwood has been charged with Larceny (Over $2,500 but not more than $20,000). He was booked into the Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, N.M.