2 in jail following theft accusations
Oct. 10—Two Odessa men are in the Ector County jail after a local resident accused them of kicking in his door and stealing cash and an iPhone from him on Aug. 27.
According to an Odessa Police Department report, an apartment dweller in the 600 block of Expressway told police he took his neighbor to an alley behind the 1200 block of East 42nd Street, but they left when a man in the alley demanded money "for being in his alley."
The man told police that 20 minutes later, he heard a loud bang and the man from the alley and Joel Jose Pineda, 48, came inside his apartment and demanded money from him. According to the report, when he refused to give them money, Christopher Aaron Galindo, 36, came into the apartment with his hand tucked into his pants and said if he didn't give them money they'd kill him.
The alleged victim, 48, gave the group roughly $180 and his Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, valued at $1,100, the report stated.
Security cameras caught the man from the alley and Pineda attempting to kick in the alleged victim's door and all three men entering the apartment, according to the report.
Pineda was arrested Oct. 2 on suspicion of burglary of a habitation with the intention of committing another felony and is being held on a $70,000 surety bond. Galindo was arrested Sunday on an identical charge, plus one count of failure to identify. He's being held on surety bonds totaling $77,000.
The name of the third man was redacted from the report, but he, too, is accused of burglary of a habitation with the intention of committing another felony, a first-degree felony punishable by five years to life in prison.
