Las Cruces Police arrested a man suspected of breaking into a neighbor’s home and stealing a credit card.
Joshua D. McKinney, 34, is charged with one count each of aggravated burglary and theft of a credit card.
On the morning of April 7, an alert neighbor summoned police to the 700 block of Del Monte after he saw a man climb through the window of a home. Officer arrived and found a .22 caliber rifle on a sofa but no one in the residence.
The homeowners arrived and confirmed that the rifle was theirs and is normally kept in a bedroom. Besides reporting that several credit cards and jewelry had been stolen from their home, the couple found other items near their front door as though the perpetrator was planning to steal them.
Witnesses gave officers a description of the suspect who, it was learned, lived at an apartment complex behind the victims’ home. Officers made contact with the suspect, identified as McKinney, who denied any involvement in the burglary.
Detectives learned that later that same day someone tried to use one of the stolen credit cards to purchase gasoline at a local Pic Quik store. The transaction was denied because the credit card had an expired date.
Detectives reviewed video surveillance from the Pic Quik and discovered that McKinney drove up to the gas pumps, swiped the stolen credit card and then left without pumping any fuel.
McKinney was arrested April 11 and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center with bond set at $10,000.