Man accused of break-in, eating resident's shrimp, leaving $200
Feb. 2—A man from the village of Melrose in Eastern New Mexico was arrested in Santa Fe this week after he was accused of breaking into a home Sunday and having a meal, and was suspected the following day of attempting an armed carjacking at Church's Chicken.
Santa Fe County sheriff's deputies responded to a call Sunday afternoon from a home on Vereda Serena near Rabbit Road in which a resident told emergency dispatchers he had arrived to find a man inside with an AR-style rifle, according to a statement of probable cause filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court.
The caller told deputies the man, later identified as 34-year-old Teral Christesson, was drinking beer and eating shrimp, the statement said, adding Christesson apologized to the homeowner and said he had needed a warm place to sleep. He then put about $200 on a chair in the home, grabbed his duffel bag and rifle and left, the homeowner said.
Deputies believed Christesson had entered the home by breaking a window, the statement said. The homeowner estimated the damage to be around $200.
The following day, Santa Fe police went to Church's Chicken off Rodeo Road, where a woman said a man had attempted to steal her vehicle while holding her at gunpoint, according to a criminal complaint.
The woman told police she was waiting in the restaurant's drive-thru when a man holding a green duffel bag and a rifle approached her door and told her to get out of her car, the complaint said. The man, suspected to be Christesson, said he was going to take the car.
The woman began honking her horn, which prompted Christesson to flee, the complaint said.
Officers later found him walking on Rodeo Road, and he was taken into custody by a deputy. Christesson told investigators he was "caught in a blizzard" Sunday and was afraid he would freeze, according to the statement of probable cause.
He said he "felt bad" about breaking the window of the home and had left money for the owner. But he refused to speak about the incident at Church's Chicken, the statement said.
He was booked into the
Santa Fe County jail on charges of aggravated burglary, larceny and criminal damage to property tied to the Sunday break-in. He faces an additional count of aggravated assault from
Santa Fe police.
