Felon wanted on several charges
Alamogordo Daily News
By Duane Barbati, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/09/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT


The Alamogordo Department of Public Safety and U.S. Border Patrol are seeking information that will lead to the arrest of a 42-year-old man who may be in the country illegally and is wanted on felony charges, an ADPS spokesperson said Tuesday.

Sgt. David Hunter said Candelario Pedroza is wanted on felony possession of a firearm, possession of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

Hunter said the U.S. Border Patrol issued a detain and hold order for Pedroza because Pedroza may possibly be in the U.S. illegally.

He said Pedroza is 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighs 190 pounds and has a scar over his left eye. Pedroza also has numerous tattoos on his chest. He is a Mexican national with medium complexion, black hair and brown eyes.

Hunter said ADPS officers received information Aug. 31 indicating methamphetamine was being consumed and distributed from an apartment in the 1100 block of Filipino Avenue by an individual from Ruidoso, who officers later confirmed was allegedly Pedroza.

Officers learned through surveillance and investigation the apartment was occupied by an individual on parole or probation. ADPS officers, along with New Mexico Department of Corrections officers and U.S. Border Patrol agents, then conducted a search of the residence.

Officers and agents found Pedroza and Joshua Rue, 27, at the apartment in the 1100 block of Filipino Avenue.

Rue was arrested on Alamogordo Municipal Court and Otero County Magistrate Court warrants for alleged failure to appear and failure to pay fines. Rue was jailed at the Otero County Detention Center to appear in the respective courts.

Hunter said officers had detained Pedroza to verify his identity.

"We can only detain someone for so long," he said. "We weren't able to link (Pedroza) to anything until after we obtained the search warrant."

Officers had to let Pedroza go because they did not have enough evidence to keep him detained during the search warrant acquisition process. Hunter said officers cannot detain a person for long periods of time while officers fish for something to charge them with.

"Pedroza did give officers his correct identity," he said. "We just didn't have probable cause to arrest him."

Hunter said officers found four unfired rounds of 9 mm ammunition in Pedroza's pocket, along with a key to a 2002 Ford F-150 pickup truck that was parked in the driveway in front of the apartment.

He said U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted a K-9 open air sniff search around the Ford pickup truck and the dog alerted officers to the presence of narcotics.

"A search warrant was obtained and executed on the pickup truck," Hunter said. "Officers recovered methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, power tools and a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun from inside the vehicle. By the time we found the drugs and learned Pedroza was a felon in possession of a firearm, we had let him go."

He said officers later learned some of the power tools may have been stolen from the Ruidoso area.

Hunter said officers also learned Pedroza has used numerous aliases in the past and is a convicted felon and had borrowed the truck from someone in Roswell.

He said U.S. Border Patrol agents later confirmed Pedroza is possibly in the U.S. illegally and issued a detain and hold order for him.

People with information about the location of Pedroza are encouraged to notify the Alamogordo Department of Public Safety at 439-4300, Crime Stoppers at 437-2000, U.S. Border Patrol at 437-6960 or any local law enforcement agency.

"Pedroza has ties to Alamogordo, Ruidoso and Roswell," he said. "He also has ties to Arizona and Texas. Pedroza is a Mexican national with ties to that country, too."

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