Bloomfield man accused of aggravated burglary, rifle theft

• Rudy Martinez, 31, is accused of five charges, including a second-degree felony count of aggravated burglary (armed after entering) and three fourth-degree felony counts of larceny of a firearm.
• Martinez was being held without bond Friday following a hearing in Aztec District Court Tuesday afternoon.
• Items including collectible coins, a silver belt buckle, tools, a television, personal documents and a tea set with the victim's name were stolen.

FARMINGTON — A Bloomfield man is accused of armed burglary and stealing three firearms and nearly $4,000 in property from a residence north of Aztec.

Rudy Martinez, 31, is accused of five charges, including a second-degree felony count of aggravated burglary (armed after entering) and three fourth-degree felony counts of larceny of a firearm, according to court records.

John Beckstead, Martinez's attorney, declined to comment.

Martinez was being held without bond Friday following a hearing in Aztec District Court Tuesday afternoon.

A motion for pretrial detention cites Martinez's convictions for DWI, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm by a felon and homicide by vehicle.

The San Juan District Attorney's Office wrote in the motion that Martinez continues to possess firearms and stolen property, and is in violation of his conditions of release for similar charges.

A deputy for the San Juan County Sheriff's Office was dispatched on March 27 to a residence on County Road 2842 north of Aztec on a report of firearms taken during a residential burglary, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.  

The homeowner told the deputy when he arrived home around 5 p.m., he noticed his residence had been burglarized. He went into his ransacked bedroom and noticed his rifles were missing.

A door on the south side of the residence was found with part of its glass shattered.

Items including collectible coins, a silver belt buckle, tools, a television, personal documents and a tea set with the victim's name were stolen. The value of the stolen property was estimated at $3,800.

Neighbors told the deputy they saw an early 2000s beige or tan vehicle or a "white newer model crossover suv with no license plate" driving around the area of the burglarized residence in the days before the burglary.

On March 28, the Farmington Police Department executed a search warrant on a residence on County Road 5589 in the Crouch Mesa area for items taken during a burglary in Farmington.

Martinez was found at the residence, along with his 2002 gold Chevrolet Cavalier, according to court documents. Several items, including three rifles and the tea set and documents with the victim's name on them, were found in the vehicle.

The man was arrested by Farmington police and accused of possession of a firearm by a felony, along with possession of burglary tools and receiving stolen property in a separate case.

During the execution of a search warrant for Martinez's DNA, he proclaimed his innocence and refused to say anything else.

Martinez had his preliminary hearing in Aztec Magistrate Court on Thursday, and the case was bound over to district court.

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.