ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – While APD is getting ready to bring the National Guard to Central, the Bernalillo County district attorney and sheriff have already spent two months cracking down in the same area under a special operation. The district attorney says their operation has already led to around 400 arrests.
Right now, they’re not sure how or if their operation will sync up with APD’s work with the guard. “That’s a big bust, right… Last night was a big bust,” said Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman.
A big bust on Central to the tune of 26,000 fentanyl pills with deputies arresting Luis Flores and a minor as part of Operation Route 66.
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“We had a vehicle pursuit, we had a foot pursuit, but everybody were in conjunction with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the DA’s office. We used their air unit, we utilized all of our resources, and we took them into custody after a long evening. And all of those pills coming off the street, it’s just not about an arrest; we just saved a bunch of lives,” said Sheriff John Allen Bernalillo County.
Of around 400 arrests they’ve made on East Central since February, 283 have been for outstanding warrants, and at least five suspects are charged with homicide. The DA says they plan to keep the joint operation going.
“We don’t want these criminal elements to come back into the neighborhood, and we want to hold them accountable. We have a full-time prosecutor assigned to every one of these cases. We’re going to follow them through,” said Bregman.
Meanwhile, the National Guard is expected to help APD in a different capacity soon.
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Sheriff John Allen says that so far, they have no plans to use the guard’s help in their current Operation Route 66. “We’re going to stay on our lane. I mean, could it happen? Maybe. The national guard, they’re in a PSA role. I didn’t request a national guard, so not to be rude, I don’t need them. I mean, that’s something the Albuquerque Police Department asked for. We’re going to continue the mission and everything that we’ve been doing as the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, and we’ll continue doing so,” said Allen.
DA Bregman says while the operations are different, the goal is the same. “We will continue to monitor all this and make sure that whatever is done, whether or not it’s evidence collection or participating in any other way, in any way of an investigation, we will make sure it’s done appropriately so that we can hold people accountable under the law and prosecute them to the full extent of the law and make sure our cases are solid when we’re going into court,” said Bregman.
So far, the DA and sheriff aren’t putting an end date on Operation Route 66. APD is expected to start working with the guard next month.
Operation Route 66 is also said to be responsible for getting nearly 30,000 fentanyl pills off the street so far, along with 25 guns and 27 stolen cars.
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