Home invasion, burglary keep
police busy

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — It was a busy weekend for burglars.

First, on Saturday at around 6 p.m., at least three men entered a residence at 808 Kevin Drive while the family was at home. One of the men, Jacoby McBroom Garcia, 21, who was later arrested, apparently knew the family.

“You better tell your brother we’re looking for him,” he told a woman inside, according to arresting Officer Cindy Romancito’s report.

Along with Mario D. Chicharello, 27, Garcia and “several other men” ravaged the house, collecting a game console, sports jerseys, a cell phone, DVDs and video games — all together valued at $1,600. At times during the burglary, the men made physical contact with family members, which upped the charge from burglary to aggravated burglary, a second-degree felony, when they were arrested later that evening.

After police arrived, family members saw Garcia and Chicharello in front of a house on the next street over.

Chicharello attempted to run, according to Romancito’s report, causing her to deploy her Taser. Chicharello was cuffed, as was Garcia, who had been standing nearby.

Both men were booked at Gallup McKinley Adult Detention Center on charges of aggravated burglary, larceny, interference with communications and battery — three counts for Garcia and two counts for Chicharello.

The rest of the men had been seen leaving in a white older-model Impala, which was later stopped by a state police officer near Red Rock Laundromat on E. 66 Avenue. The driver, Lance Owens, apparently escaped by jumping out of the car and running north. The passenger, Tyrone White, was transported to NCI. The Impala was towed to Gallup Police Department for investigation.

Why White was not booked on burglary charges is not mentioned in Romancito’s report, which also states that Garcia had to be treated for a broken nose, receiving seven stitches, before he could be admitted to the jail.

How Garcia suffered a broken nose remains unanswered.
A less complex, commercial burglary occurred early Monday morning.

Leland Anthony, 23, of Mexican Springs, was arrested at around 1:40 a.m., as he was exiting a broken window at Front Row Seat video store on E. 66 Avenue. Officers arrived at Front Row Seat in response to an alarm, according to Gallup Police Lt. Rick White. Upon arrival, they observed a vehicle parked behind the building, a broken window and movement inside. Anthony was arrested on one count of commercial burglary, a fourth-degree felony. He had stolen $500 worth of pornographic DVDs, according to White.