ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Two teenagers were arrested Friday in connection to a string of burglaries across the city. Jesse Mascareno, 18, and 17-year-old Joshua Templeton are charged with several burglaries and stealing vehicles.
According to a press release, the burglars were breaking into homes while residents were inside, often asleep. An APD detective was able to link at least 80 home burglaries and auto thefts across Albuquerque to the suspects.
The investigation began in December after a man posted on social media that he had been robbed. Soon after that report, the detective learned of a number of similar burglaries across the city.
Officials say the homes involved backed up to open space, allowing burglars to enter homes from unlocked back doors or windows. Often, the suspects would find car keys inside the homes and leave with the homeowners’ vehicles.
The two suspects were captured multiple times on surveillance cameras. Video provided by neighbors showed the offenders climbing a wall into a gated community that backs up to the Tanoan Golf Course. They then gained entry with a vehicle by dismantling the automatic gate-opening device.
When Mascareno and Templeton were arrested, multiple stolen items were recovered including two firearms, a firearm suppressor, two televisions, laptops, multiple XBoxes, phones, and key fobs to stolen cars. The detective on this case learned that six additional burglaries in Los Lunas are also believed to be done by Mascareno and Templeton.
