Man steals wallet to buy cigarettes, CBD

A man stole another man’s wallet just to buy some CBD and some cigarettes.

On July 25, around 10:45 am, Gallup Police Officer Christopher Dawes was dispatched to Taco Bell North, 838 U.S. Hwy. 491, to meet with a man who said his bag had been stolen from his vehicle.

When Dawes met with the victim, he explained that he had gotten a text from his online banking around 10 am that said just over $62 at Duke City Gas Station, 1512 E. Hwy. 66,  had been charged to his account. The victim said he hadn’t been at that gas station because he’d been at the Taco Bell.

The victim said he’d gone back to his truck and looked around for his Adidas backpack that had his Dragon Ball Z wallet in it. According to the victim, his wallet had his driver’s license, credit card, and gas card in it. The victim said that the combined total value of everything that was missing came out to about $200.

The victim said he believed his wallet was taken while he’d been making a delivery at Taco Bell East, 914 E. Hwy. 66.

Luckily, the victim had an Apple tag on his backpack, and he was able to track it to Earl’s Restaurant, 1400 E. Hwy. 66 and then it moved on to the Alavon Restaurant, 1310 E. Hwy. 66.

However, when police went to the area to look for someone with a gray Adidas bag, they couldn’t find anyone that had a bag matching that description.

While other officers were checking out the two restaurants, Dawes drove to the Duke City Gas Station and met with the store owner to see if he could catch the suspect on video.

According to Dawes’s report, the store owner was actually able to give him a receipt that had the $62 purchase on it. He told Dawes that some individuals had come into the store, and that they’d been acting weird.

The video that the store owner showed Dawes featured two men and a woman. In his report Dawes said he recognized one of the men as Christopher Barrett because he’d had a previous interaction with him.

In the video footage, the woman is seen asking Barrett, 38, for a card, and Barrett reaches into his pocket and gives her one. The woman paid for five items with the card, which is believed to be the victim’s credit card. The five items bought were two CBD cigarettes, and three different brands of tobacco cigarettes. The total, with tax, came out to just over $62.

The purchase was made around 9 am.

Around 12:30 pm that day, Gallup Police Officer Timothy Hughte found Barrett at the Taco Bell East. Metro Dispatch told Hughte that Barret had six warrants out for his arrest. Hughte arrested Barrett, and brought him back to the Gallup Police Department for questioning.

During his interview with the police, Barrett admitted to taking the backpack from the victim’s semi-truck at Taco Bell East.

As Dawes was transporting Barrett to the McKinley County Adult Detention Center, he noticed some aluminum foil fall out of his hand as he was being put in handcuffs. When Dawes asked him what was in the aluminum foil, Barrett said it was pain relief medication. Barret said it was “the blue pill.”

Based on this statement, Dawes believed the pill was actually fentanyl, and when he asked Barrett he admitted that it was the illegal drug. Later on, Dawes did find a fentanyl pill inside the foil.

Barrett was charged for his six warrants. According to Dawes’s report, a summons from the Gallup Magistrate Court will be filed for the burglary of a vehicle, fraudulent use of credit cards ($250 or less), and the possession of an illegal drug.

His arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 2

Staff Reports