Armed robbers caught
3 arrested for Comfort Inn robbery

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Three 18 year olds, one AWOL from the U.S. Army, have been arrested in connection with the armed robbery of the Comfort Inn last week.

Two of the men were arrested within a couple of days of the incident, the third was arrested Thursday afternoon.
Arrested were: Bryce Franklin, of Grants; Michael Lamothe, of Michigan; and Daniel Alexander, also of Grants.

Franklin and Lamothe are charged in connection with: Armed robbery; aggravated burglary, with a deadly weapon; receiving stolen property (dispose of over $500); false imprisonment; possession of burglary tools; tampering with evidence; criminal damage to property; and receiving stolen property (retaining over $500).

Alexander is charged in connection with armed robbery, aggravated burglary, false imprisonment, destruction of property and possession of stolen property.

Franklin is the one who is reported as AWOL from the army, Grants Police Detective Sgt. John Castaneda said.
Additionally, Franklin and Lamothe were involved in breaking into five post office boxes in the San Rafael Post Office and burglarizing a vehicle at the trail head of the El Malpais on New Mexico Highway 53 south of Grants, Cibola County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Harry Hall said.
The two incidents occurred the weekend of Oct. 11-13, he said.

“It is a very serious crime to steal mail,” Hall said.

“Franklin and Lamothe and Alexander were involved in the armed robbery, but Alexander was not involved in the post office break in or the car burglary,” Castaneda said.
Trio in custody

All three are currently in custody in the Cibola County Detention Center, Lt. David Sisneros said.
Both Alexander and Lamothe have a no bond hold, there is a $100,000 bond on Franklin, Sisneros said.

“We want to thank the residents of the area because we received several telephone calls pointing us to the green Chevrolet Cavalier that Franklin and Lamothe were driving,” Castaneda said.

Officers Bill Marion and Carl Ustupski made a traffic stop on the car on Oct. 12 about 6 p.m., at Fourth and Leach streets in Grants and identified the occupants as Franklin and Lamothe, according to Cibola County Magistrate Court records.

Castaneda said the officers, along with Sgt. Gilbert Gonzales, found three stolen computer hard drives in the car along with mail from the post office, court records state.

The three of them robbed the Comfort Inn, 1551 E. Santa Fe Ave., in Grants (Independent, Oct. 10), about 1:30 a.m., on Oct. 8, using a crowbar and a stun gun, breaking through a back door to the office, Castaneda said.

“They stunned the clerk, stole the hard drives and an undetermined amount of cash from the cash register,” he said.

“Why did they do it? They needed money,” he said.

None of the three, as far as police can tell, have a drug problem.

“Franklin and Lamothe were living out of their car,” Castaneda said.

Castaneda said he obtained a confession from Franklin and Lamothe, who named Alexander as the third person while interviewing them following their arrest.

Castaneda said it took 40 to 50 hours working the case by himself and other officers, building the case, interviewing and preparing the paperwork for the district attorney’s office.