Albuquerque man accused of firing gun while chasing alleged truck thief

Dec.

30–An Albuquerque man is behind bars after allegedly taking matters into his own hands last week, firing a gun repeatedly while following the person who allegedly stole his truck. Meanwhile, the man who allegedly stole the truck has been released until trial. Steven Trujillo, 51, is charged with shooting at or from a motor vehicle in the Dec.

26 incident. He is currently at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Trujillo’s attorney declined to comment Saturday.

Trujillo told police he only fired the gun into the air to scare the person driving his truck, according to court records. A witness told police Trujillo, who was with his son and wife at the time, fired a rifle twice into the truck. Prosecutors filed a motion to detain Trujillo until trial, saying “stealing a car, or driving a stolen car is not a reason to kill someone.”

“Frustration with the level of crime in our community is widely shared, however it is not acceptable behavior to take the law into your own hands and become judge, jury and executioner,” according to the motion. “… This incomprehensible lack of judgement demonstrates that (Trujillo) cannot control his violence.” Prosecutors alleged that, if released, there is no guarantee that Trujillo would not turn to violence if someone “does something he doesn’t like” or that he would not “continue his hunt” for the man who stole his truck.

The alleged thief, Omar Antillon, 34, was released from MDC a day after being booked on auto theft and other charges. Court records show that Antillon, who has “mama tried” tattooed on his eyelids, failed to report to pretrial services on Friday and it was requested that a warrant be issued for his arrest. The cases unfolded Tuesday, when Trujillo called 911 to say he had found his stolen truck and was following it, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

Police asked Trujillo to stop pursuing the truck and he refused, telling them he had two guns and was firing one of them into the air “to scare the driver.” Police said they detained Trujillo near Fourth and Avenida Cesar Chavez SW and Trujillo’s wife told police the suspect fled from their truck after the gunfire. Trujillo’s son was holding the rifle when police arrived and officers spotted two bullet holes in the truck’s passenger door.

A witness told police they saw a man fitting Trujillo’s description, and not his son, walk up to the truck, open the door and fire a rifle into it, according to the complaint. Employees at a nearby McDonald’s restaurant told police the thief — identified later as Antillon — had run inside the business “sweating and out of breath.” Police said Antillon tried to run from them, and when they caught him, he said, “It wasn’t me.” Trujillo’s wife identified Antillon as the thief.

Antillon identified himself by a different name and date of birth, and an officer used a facial recognition app to identify him, according to the complaint.

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