Grandmother protecting herself and her 4-year-old grandson shoots auto theft suspect who broke into her home, cops say



A New Mexico grandmother protecting herself and her 4-year-old grandson shot an auto theft suspect who broke into her home Friday night.

What are the details?

Albuquerque police said they tried to pull over a stolen truck near Central and Cypress around 8 p.m. and used spike strips to flatten the tires, the Albuquerque Journal reported, citing a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

Police told the paper the truck was “on its rims” and crashed into a curb near Candelaria and Rio Grande NW.

The driver ran into the neighborhood, and police made a perimeter to search the area, the Journal said.

A woman who was with her 4-year-old grandson told police she heard someone inside her home, the paper said, adding that she confronted the male who “appeared to be angry” and told her he “just needed her keys.”

The woman told police she thought about arming herself but “did not know if she had time to use the weapon” if the intruder also had a gun, the paper reported, citing the complaint.

The woman told police she took the intruder to a “bowl of keys” in the kitchen, and the male took several keys and left, the Journal reported.

Police said the woman told them she then grabbed a gun and took her grandchild into a bedroom — but she said she discovered the intruder back in her hallway “demanding more keys," the paper said.

With that, the woman told police she pointed the gun at the intruder and “told him to get out” — but he began approaching her instead, the Journal said, citing the complaint.

The woman told police she was scared “he would kill her or her grandchild,” and she shot him once, the paper reported.

The woman told police the intruder fell to the ground and began “crawling through the halls asking for water,” the Journal said, adding that the woman said she “put pressure on his wound until police arrived.”

The woman called 911 around 9:30 p.m., arriving officers detained the burglar — identified as 32-year-old Joseph Rivera — at the home, and the woman gave police the gun she used to shoot him, the paper said.

Police told the Journal that Rivera is charged with burglary, attempted burglary, and auto theft, and will be booked into jail after he's released from the hospital.

More from the paper:

Rivera is currently on pretrial release in a July 2023 case in which he was found in a stolen vehicle with fentanyl, cocaine and heroin on him, according to court records. At the time, Rivera told police that “his personal life and caring for his family has been incredibly difficult” as he struggled with undiagnosed mental health issues and addiction.

A warrant was issued in that case when he didn’t show up for a court hearing in October.

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Leave your car keys at your front door so car thieves don't hurt you, Toronto Police tell residents. Backlash is brutal.



Toronto Police told residents to leave their car keys at their front doors for thieves to take in order to lessen the risk of getting physically attacked in their homes for them, City News Toronto reported — and the backlash to the jaw-dropping suggestion has been brutal.

What are the details?

The outlet said Cst. Marco Ricciardi advised residents at an Etobicoke safety meeting last month to leave their key fobs in faraday pouches in convenient places for thieves to take in order to lessen the risk of physical violence over the fobs.

“To prevent the possibility of being attacked in your home, leave your fobs at the front door because they are breaking into your home to steal your car; they don’t want anything else," Ricciardi said, according to City News Toronto. "A lot of them that they’re arresting have guns on them, and they are not toy guns. They are real guns. They’re loaded.”

The outlet said Toronto Police were trending Thursday on X with "thousands of tweets on the topic, most of them expressing anger."

“This is bizarre,” one commenter wrote, according to the outlet. “Toronto Police advising the public to leave your fobs near the door. They suggest this because invaders are primarily entering homes to steal your cars. Why not hang your keys outside the door? Or better yet, just leave them in the car.”

City News Toronto said another user added, “This is failed state-level insanity. Hey guys do you mind making it easier for people to steal your cars so that they won’t break into your house instead? Thanks.”

Here are some other reactions:

  • "Canada is gone," one commenter said.
  • "The entire planet has gone bats**t WOKE crazy," another user declared.
  • "The Ottawa Police are useless The [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] are compromised. The Toronto Police are corrupted. The Supreme Court are woke. Canada is in real trouble," another commenter said.

Rebel News founder Ezra Levant pulled no punches, either:

— (@)

The outlet noted that Toronto-area car thefts increased by nearly 25% in 2023 over the previous year, while auto theft-motivated home invasions and break-and-enters rose 400% in 2023.

What's the latest from Toronto Police?

Toronto Police on Wednesday addressed last month's "well meaning" suggestion and offered more advice, City News Toronto reported.

"Police are concerned about an escalation in violence where all sorts of weapons and firearms are being used to steal vehicles, and that includes during home invasions," police said, according to the outlet, adding that they offered the following suggestions:

  • Park vehicles in a garage if possible
  • Ensure your driveway is well-lit and keep exterior lights on all night
  • Security cameras are an asset
  • If possible, install a home-security system — activate alarm on STAY when home and AWAY when out
  • Consider connecting a motion-detection alarm to your cell phone
  • Put security film on glass windows and doors
  • Place multipoint locks on your doors
  • Keep backyard gates locked and ground windows secured
  • Do not post on social media when you will be away on holiday
  • Report to police suspicious vehicles/persons in the neighborhood

Toronto Police spark controversy with new advice for car owners youtu.be

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Guardian of four teens arrested in Maryland for auto-theft reportedly pulled up to fetch them from police in a stolen car



Some alleged car thieves unwittingly gave Maryland patrol officers a hand last week, driving critical evidence right past the police station.

Officers in Charles County, Maryland, glimpsed two occupied Hyundai vehicles in a business parking lot while on patrol around 1:07 p.m. on May 16. According to police, a quick computer check revealed that both vehicles had been reported stolen.

Officers endeavored to initiate a traffic stop, but the suspects allegedly fled the scene.

While officers gave chase, a 911 call came in, revealing that bandits driving cars matching the description of the stolen vehicles had just knocked over a business at St. Charles Towne Center.

The suspects, alleged to have been fleeing a burglary in stolen property, sped to the Smallwood Park and Ride, where they ditched the vehicles. Despite making a concerted effort to hide, the alleged car thieves — two adults and four juveniles — were ultimately tracked down and arrested.

The chase may have come to an end, but it appears there were still yet other suspects keen to get caught.

The CCSO indicated that another stolen vehicle pulled up outside the station and dropped off the younger arrestees' guardian along with two other females, before trundling away.
While the trio of women — Carlisa Monnae Blackeney, 18, and Mahkiyh McQuinn-Woodly, 18, along with a female juvenile — went to take custody of the minors, officers searched the area for the third stolen vehicle, finding it on a nearby street.
The steering column on the vehicle was damaged and the back window had been busted in. According to the sheriffs office, 19-year-old Anthony Stewart and three additional juveniles were inside when they found the vehicle.

Officers reportedly ordered everyone inside the getaway vehicle to exit, but Stewart allegedly refused to comply and sped off, nearly running over and pinning one of the officers.

The sheriff's office stated that Stewart only drove a short distance before ditching the car, having not learned from Whitaker and Alston's earlier alleged failure. Stewart's three young passengers similarly piled out of the vehicle, said the CCSO.

After a brief foot chase, all of the stolen car's occupants were apprehended.

Stewart was charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, theft, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and providing a false name. The CCSO also discovered there had been outstanding warrants for his arrest.

The trio of minors who had allegedly been with him — a 16-year-old male with active arrest warrants, a 13-year-old female reported missing from a nearby county, and another juvenile — were all charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Blackeney and McQuinn-Woodly were charged with theft and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, among other charges.

Deshaun Deamonte Whitaker, 18, and Vincent Lee Alston, 21, of Washington, D.C., were similarly charged with theft, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and rogue and vagabond.

While Whitaker was released on a $2,000 unsecured bond on May 18, Alston remains at the Charles County Detention Center without bond.

The Charles County Sheriff's Office indicated that the four juveniles believed to be involved in the initial police chase were charged on a juvenile office report with theft and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Neighborhood Scout indicated that the chances of becoming a victim of a property crime in Maryland is 1 in 63.

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