Source Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
Whoa, Nelly!
Albuquerque police officers on horseback corralled a shoplifting suspect recently on West Central.
Mark Chacon, 30, was charged with shoplifting, resisting, evading or obstructing an officer and possession of drug paraphernalia in connection with the March 20 incident.
On Friday, the Albuquerque Police Department shared lapel camera video on its Facebook page of the Old West-style takedown — only this one amid strip malls and asphalt.
The video begins with an officer riding a horse beneath the overhang of the Walgreens at Coors and Central as Chacon runs through the parking lot.
The officer asks, "Did he steal something?" as he gallops by several frantic employees, who reply in the affirmative.
The officer then says — in true cowboy fashion — "C'mon" to his horse and rides forward, yelling at Chacon, "Stop, you're being detained." The horse catches up to Chacon easily and begins trotting along as Chacon tries to evade the equine.
Three officers converge on Chacon in the middle of the road as he yells, "It wasn't me," but the officer replies, "Stop or force will be used against you." All three horse-mounted officers surround Chacon as he tries to change directions multiple times. "You are not free to leave," the officer yells. "Do you understand?"
"I didn't do (expletive)," Chacon replies. An officer gets off his horse and tells Chacon, "I'm going to (expletive) use force against you, get on the ground," and handcuffs him.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court:
A Walgreens manager told police Chacon had stolen from the business.
Officers found more than $230 worth of stolen merchandise on Chacon. Police said they also found a straw and burnt foil, commonly used to smoke fentanyl, on Chacon.
Chacon, who has a history of arrests on drug charges and low-level property crimes, was released on his own recognizance the next day.
Within days of his release, two arrest warrants were issued for Chacon in separate cases, according to court records. In one case, he allegedly shattered a bus window with a rock and, in the other, he was found with methamphetamine during a failed shoplifting attempt.
Chacon could not be reached Saturday.
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