A Chimayó man has been charged with burglary for allegedly running off with $50 from the Española Little Caesars Pizza.
Four Española Police officers were dispatched May 5 around 2:20 p.m. to Center Market, where employees were detaining Andrew Abeyta, 22, for allegedly trying to rob Little Caesars, according to a police report.
Center Market employee Megan Jade told officers Abeyta had approached her to ask for money, walked into Little Caesars, then ran out moments later with money in his hands.
Little Caesars cook Dominic Wilson chased after the man, tripped him near the Family Dollar parking lot and held him down until Jessica Apodaca suggested they take him to Center Market, where he would be monitored by security cameras, the report states.
Wilson told police he was in the back of the store when Abeyta walked in, the report states. Wilson said he and assistant manager Petra Velarde heard the bell to the cash register ring and realized the register had been broken into. Wilson chased Abeyta into the parking lot and yelled for help, the report states.
Officer Justin Apodaca wrote in the report that store surveillance video showed Abeyta picking up the cash register, searching for a button to open it and taking all of the bills and a roll of quarters from the drawer. Velarde told police there was $50 in the register, but the report states only $37 was recovered from Abeyta. A roll of quarters was missing after the confrontation, the report states.
Center Market manager Jessica Apodaca said she recognized Abeyta, who is often spotted panhandling near the store.
“He shouldn’t have done it,” she said, referring to the robbery.
According to 911 dispatch logs, Abeyta complained of being kicked in the face during the scuffle. The report sates Abeyta complained of pain in his jaw and right side of his face and was checked for injuries at the Española Hospital.
Wilson declined to comment on the chase. Jessica Apodaca said Abeyta was not kicked.
“No one hit him,” she said. “These kids get caught and they say, ‘Oh, he hit me.’”
Abeyta was being held in Santa Fe County Jail, where he is being held on a $5,000 bond, according to booking staff. He was arraigned Monday in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court, according to an online court records database. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for May 19 before Judge Richard Padilla.