Investigators raid "trashed out" home

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Investigators with the Albuquerque Police Department and the city's Nuisance Abatement Team said they found two teenagers who were left to fend for themselves living in a house that had mold, trash and rodents.

The man who owns the home told KRQE it's not his fault.

Carlos Cordova said he was in the middle of remodeling his home, and didn't know people were in and out of it.

During a raid on Thursday morning, investigators snapped pictures of appliances, cars, copper and piles of trash.

"What we're dealing with is a house that's been completely trashed out, we're talking about extensive code violations," Chief Public Safety Officer Pete Dinelli said.

Despite the conditions, investigators said it's what they found inside that disturbed them
the most.

"We found two young people there, fifteen-year-olds, and apparently the one that was supposedly living there hasn't seen his mom for three days," Dinelli said.

He said the teenager was taken to an agency for homeless youth and that there was a possibility his mother could face charges.

The other teen's mother picked up her daughter.

Inside the home police discovered more garbage, mold and evidence of drugs.

"There was no gas, there was no electricity, the entire interior was trashed out, you had mouse droppings all over the place, you had shotgun shells," Dinelli said.

Police said the house stood out from the rest of the subdivision.

For months neighbors complained about gang activity and drug dealing.

Officer Vivian Gonzales said she believes people were in and out the house for months.

"I think so, homeowner said it was vacant for two months, however, he was giving us conflicting stories," she said.

"I haven't done anything wrong, this is what disturbs me," the home's owner Carlos Cordova said.

He told KRQE he didn't know about the problems.

"There's ways that we could've taken care of it, and as far as the way of the condition of the house there's nothing wrong with it," Cordova said.

When asked whether he believed he should protect his home from outsiders as the homeowner, Cordova replied, "I do, I locked it up, I put dead bolts."

"We put as much pressure as possible to force property owners to take responsibility and trying to give us all sorts of excuses really doesn't cut it," Dinelli said.

Inspectors posted the house as substandard.

If Cordova doesn't fix the problems, the city could tear it down.