Man accused of burglary of meat market, stealing camper

• Ronnie James is accused of breaking into the Sonora Meat Market in Farmington and stealing items from a storage building.
• James is also accused of stealing a camper trailer from Harper Hill RV and Storage.
• The preliminary hearings for the three cases filed on Dec. 13 are scheduled for Wednesday morning.

FARMINGTON — Three new sets of criminal charges have been filed against a Flora Vista man with six pending sets of criminal charges in San Juan County magistrate courts.

Ronnie James, 43, was charged on Dec. 13 in Farmington Magistrate Court and accused of eight felony charges across the three new cases, according to court records.

James has six pending cases between Aztec and Farmington magistrate courts which were filed in November.

He did not have legal representation listed this afternoon on the new criminal charges, according to court documents.

Mark Curnutt, the attorney representing James in several other cases, did not respond to requests for comment.

James is accused of felony counts of nonresidential burglary, larceny, retaining stolen property, criminal damage to property and disposing of stolen property in one case, according to the criminal complaint.

He is accused of breaking into the Sonora Meat Market at 2101 San Juan Blvd. in Farmington in the early morning of Oct. 31, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

He is also accused of stealing several items, including a meat slicer, a floor buffer, a safe and an air compressor.

An officer for the Farmington Police Department was dispatched to the business around 7:55 a.m. on Oct. 31 on reports of multiple items stolen and damage to a gate on the property.

The owner of the market told the officer a storage building south of the main building had been broken into, and numerous items had been taken.

A detective working the case recognized James and a second unidentified suspect in video surveillance footage allegedly loading items from the building into a pickup truck and driving off, according to court documents.

A detective for the San Juan County Sheriff's Office told the Farmington detective a meat slicer was recovered from a stolen vehicle James is accused of being in possession of when he was arrested, the affidavit states.

The owner of the market confirmed it was the meat slicer that had been stolen from his business.

James is also accused of stealing a camper trailer from Harper Hill RV and Storage at 4500 Lomas St., according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

The charges in the stolen camper trailer case include a second-degree felony count of unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and a fourth-degree felony count of criminal damage to property, according to court documents.

The owner of the camper trailer told an officer on Nov. 15 it had been taken between Nov. 12 and Nov. 15. The Komfort Camp Trailer was recovered behind a home in the 1200 block of Pixley Lane in Bloomfield.

During an interview with a San Juan County Sheriff's Office detective on Nov. 16, James admitted to taking the camper trailer, according to court documents.

James is also facing a fourth-degree felony count of theft of a credit card, according to court records.

The six cases filed in November against James in Aztec and Farmington magistrate courts are still pending, according to San Juan County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O'Brien.

He said the cases are still pending due to a court order to determine if James is competent to stand trial.

Curnutt also filed a motion today in District Court to stay proceedings in several of James' cases until a determination of James' competency to stand trial is made, according to the motion.

James was booked into the San Juan County Adult Detention Center on Nov. 15 and has a $41,500 bond.

The preliminary hearings for the three cases filed on Dec. 13 are scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Joshua Kellogg covers crime, courts and social issues for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 or via email at jkellogg@daily-times.com.