The man suspected of following a motorist from a Wells Fargo Bank and burglarizing the vehicle when it was left unattended at a south Valley Drive business has been identified and charged with a felony.
Colby Dillon Carrington, 22, of El Paso, Texas, is charged with one count of burglary of a vehicle. The charge is a fourth-degree felony.
About 5 p.m. on Aug. 27, 2019, Las Cruces police learned that a minivan parked outside a south Valley Drive business had been burglarized. Police determined someone in a gold Honda Accord followed the minivan from Wells Fargo Bank, at 500 S. Main St., to the business on South Valley Drive. The driver of the minivan left the vehicle unattended and unlocked before walking inside the business.
Surveillance video shows the gold Honda Accord pull alongside the minivan and a passenger exit the car. The man entered the minivan and stole a bank bag from the minivan before reentering the Accord that fled the area. The bank bag contained nothing more than receipts.
Police learned of similar bank surveillance incidents involving the same Honda Accord at other locations within Las Cruces, and in Carlsbad and Deming. On Sept. 17, Las Cruces police issued a news release describing the incidents and vehicle. Within hours, tips came in from El Paso identifying Carrington as the car’s owner.
Police in Texas arrested Carrington on a warrant from Luna County. Las Cruces police spoke with Carrington while he was in custody in Texas. He declined to identify his partners or accomplices in the Las Cruces incidents.
A warrant has been obtained charging Carrington with the Aug. 27 incident in Las Cruces.