A man is facing charges after he stole a car from a local Taco Bell parking lot.
On June 26 around 1:30 am McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Frank Villa Jr. met with a man who was tracking his stolen car via the Toyota app. The man who stole the vehicle was later identified as Alrite Halote.
When Villa met with the victim the man told him that the vehicle’s last known location was Gamerco. The vehicle was eventually found at the intersection of Diamond Avenue and Bench Street.
As Villa was driving to the location, he noticed a bald Hispanic man wearing a red backpack on his shoulders walking along the street. After he found out the vehicle was empty, Villa went back to the man, who was eventually identified as Halote, 46.
Halote reportedly tried to hide behind some vehicles at a nearby residence, but Villa spotted him and called him back to his patrol vehicle. According to his report, Villa believed that Halote was the man who stole the victim’s car based on his description.
When he searched Halote’s backpack, Villa found some blue pills which he identified as fen-tanyl. He also had some methamphetamine on him. During his interaction with Villa Halote never mentioned the stolen vehicle.
Villa drove Halote back to the location of the stolen vehicle, and met up with the victim. The victim identified Halote as the one who had stolen his vehicle.
The victim explained that he’d been working at the Taco Bell on the east side of Gallup when he’d last seen his vehicle. He’d taken his break around 9:00 pm, and it was still there.
The victim said a friend of his had been sleeping in the car and watching it while he worked. But when his shift ended around 11:15 pm, his car was gone. He assumed his friend had taken the car, but when he checked the Toyota app to see where his car was he noticed it was at 112 W. Maloney Ave.
The victim texted his friend asking him to come pick him up. After getting off the phone with his friend, the victim noticed that his car has moved to 1014C Wilson St. Another friend drove him to that location, but by then Halote was heading east on Highway 66.
The two men finally caught up to the vehicle at the Speedway located at 1223 E. Hwy. 66. Halote was reportedly getting gas when they pulled up. The victim got out of his friend’s car and yelled “That’s my car!”
In response, Halote allegedly jumped into the vehicle and tried to get out of there. In doing so, he reportedly ripped the gas pump right out of the car’s tank.
Halote was arrested for one count of unlawful taking of a vehicle and two counts of posses-sion of a controlled substance. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 17.
Staff Reports
