Santa Fe man tackles suspected car burglar, held him until police came
Feb. 26—A 74-year-old Santa Fe man tackled a 32-year-old serial criminal Wednesday evening and held him on the ground until police arrived, according to a police report.
David Lailes was arrested and charged with burglary of a vehicle after a police officer responding to a report of a burglary in progress arrived to find the suspect being pinned to the ground by a resident, according to the officer's report.
Santa Fe police Officer Gregory Brendal-Urbina wrote he was dispatched to a residential area near Santa Fe High School shortly after 6 p.m. and arrived to see two people on the ground — "one securing the other not allow him to get up," according to the report — and a third person standing close by with a phone.
The man who tackled Lailes said he was already on alert because vehicles in his area, including his own, recently had been burglarized. The man's adult son arrived at his home and told him he'd seen a suspicious-looking man walking down the street.
The man said when he and his son peered out the window, they saw Lailes looking inside a neighbor's vehicle on Calle Contento.
"I was so upset because our neighborhood was hit like five times already in the past few weeks, and I was one of them," said the retired city worker, who asked that his and his son's names not be used for fear of retribution.
The man added that had he not been aware of recent burglaries in the area, he might have just chased the suspect away. But he decided he should catch him while he could.
"I just grabbed my coat and ran outside," he said. "It was dark, and I tiptoed up behind him. I really startled him. ... I grabbed him from behind and really held him tight."
Police responded to his son's 911 call in minutes, the man said.
Court records show Lailes has four other criminal cases pending against him from 2021 — three involving burglary of a vehicle and one charging him with breaking and entering.
Lailes' criminal record dates to 2008, including multiple charges of trespassing, criminal damage to property, shoplifting, DWI, domestic violence, battery on a peace officer and drug possession, according to court records.
As of 2016 — when Lailes was accused of stealing a 12-pack of beer from an old man walking with a cane — he'd been arrested 53 times and been contacted by police 159 times, according to a story in The New Mexican's archives.
About a dozen cases have been filed against him since. Lailes' residence is less than a half-mile from where the incident occurred, according court records.
Santa Fe Magistrate David Segura released Lailes on a $2,500 appearance bond Thursday. Attempts to reach Lailes for comment were unsuccessful.
The man who tackled Lailes on Wednesday evening was dismayed to learn Lailes had a lengthy criminal record and was already out of jail.
"That's crazy," the man said. "It's a mockery of the system. Does he have to kill someone before they put him away?"
