Police make arrest targeting young people with guns in Downtown Albuquerque
Jul. 6—Albuquerque police responded to a shooting in a Downtown parking garage last Sunday, finding the body of Mariano Salazar. He was 17 years old and the second teenager to be fatally shot in the city last month.
A weekend later, the Albuquerque Police Department said officers hit Downtown targeting "underage individuals with guns in parking garages." Just before 1 a.m. Saturday, an officer watched a young man put an AR-15 rifle in his pants and walk toward a man he had been arguing with.
When police made their presence known, the young man and two others got into a car and fled, crashing into multiple vehicles and a police SUV in the process. Two of the young men escaped, but the driver, 19-year-old Steven Robles, was taken into custody.
Police said the AR-15 rifle and a handgun were found in the car.
Robles was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Saturday on charges of aggravated fleeing and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer.
Court records show Robles was arrested in January, after he allegedly carjacked a woman at gunpoint and was later found in the stolen vehicle with rifles and a handgun.
Prosecutors filed a motion to detain Robles until trial, saying "he has no reservation about threatening people in the most serious way possible." A state district judge denied the motion, citing Robles "minimal criminal history."
"The court finds that, because of this lack of substantive criminal history, there is no evidence that (Robles) cannot comply with conditions of release," according to the judge's findings.
A month later, federal authorities notified prosecutors handling the case that Robles had posted a photo to Instagram, holding a gun with an extended magazine alongside a young woman. The caption read, "Happy Valentines Day Mami And Many More To Come."
It's unclear what became of that motion, as no other related documents were filed.
Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police, said detectives are still investigating the incident.
Around 12:45 a.m., an officer was surveilling a parking garage at Central and First and saw Robles and another young man approach a group of people, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. An argument began and Robles' passenger retrieved the rifle from the car and concealed it in his pants.
"It was not visible to others at that time," according to the complaint.
Police said the young man walked back over to the group and showed them the rifle "at one point" but the argument dissipated. The officer requested backup and soon those atop the parking garage began saying the police were there and trying to leave.
After Robles hit several vehicles and fled, police used spike strips to deflate his tires as he left the garage, according to the complaint. The car stopped at Third and Gold, where two passengers ran and officers chased down Robles.
"What's wrong with you, dude?" an out-of-breath officer asks a shirtless Robles after putting handcuffs on him, lapel camera video shows. Police said he refused to speak with officers.
