Alcohol taken in Grants break-in

By Mike Marino
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Thefts often involve breaking and entering to steal computers, TVs, guns, jewelry and other valuable items.

But in the May case of the Villa de Cabero Store break-in, the thieves were after something else.

"Keith Gottlieb, the owner of the store called us and reported that he had closed up for the evening, and when he returned in the morning to open up again, he found that someone had smashed the front door of the building. (He) found that the burglars had taken 25 bottles of assorted whiskey, nine 30-packs of Budweiser, a large bottle of Yukon Jack, a large bottle of Jim Beam whiskey, and looks like they left and went somewhere and must have had a party," Lt. Harry Hall of the Cibola County Sheriffs Department said.

The thirsty thieves took over $600 in whiskey, $200 worth of beer and another $40 in assorted beverages.

There is a lead in the case, as Hall explained, "Some people were found to be selling some alcohol somewhere on the reservation right after this occurred."

In a different case of breaking and entering, thieves tried using a pair of pliers to break into a residence in the Oso Ridge area. On May 20, Joann Lapica reported to the sheriff's department that she had left her home around 2 p.m. to go a birthday party down the street and returned home at 6 p.m.

"She noticed that the front door and gate were open. Apparently they tried to use some kind of tool to break in and enter the house, maybe pliers to squeeze, or turn or mash the knob off the door. There were minor marks on the door showing some sort of force was used," Hall said.

There were two large German shepherds in the home at the time, and the would-be thieves appeared to have left the scene. There were no tire tracks and there are currently no suspects in the case.

With information on any crimes committed in the area, call Crimestoppers at (505) 287-8400. All calls are anonymous.