An Anthony man was arrested late Friday night by Doña Ana County Sheriff’s investigators following a string of burglaries the man allegedly committed just hours after being discharged from a Las Cruces-area hospital.
According to court documents, Juan Herrera, 32, left Memorial Medical Center at 8 a.m. Friday and started walking to his house in Anthony.
Just before 6 p.m., he arrived at a church in the 5500 block of Stern and reportedly spray-painted the walls and the ground with a can of orange paint he found earlier. The report further states that Herrera then used a shovel to pry open the door of the church to gain entry, but left after he heard an alarm that had been activated.
At approximately 8 p.m., Herrera passed a house in the 600 block of Rocky Road that he told investigators looked “lonely.” Herrera then proceeded to break two windows out of a truck that was parked in front of the house and allegedly stole a bag from inside the truck that contained a laptop computer and other miscellaneous items.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to both locations after getting reports from people that the church and the residence had been broken into.
At 10 p.m., sheriff’s deputies were then called to the 200 block of Vine in Mesquite after Herrera’s nephew reported suspicious circumstances. According to the man, Herrera arrived at the residence on Vine and said the bags he was carrying were full of stolen items.
Investigators at the scene corroborated the burglary reports that had been made earlier on Stern and Rocky Road and compared the evidence that was found inside the bags Herrera was carrying.
Herrera was arrested and charged with auto burglary and breaking and entering. He was transported to the Doña Ana County Detention Center where he is being held on a $3,000 secured bond.
Information from: Dona Ana County Sheriffs Dept.