LAPD News:
Los Alamos police report that they have identified the second suspect involved in the March 9 shoplifting incident at Bealls and the hit and run case involving a silver Volvo that left a local man with minor injuries. A search warrant was obtained and executed on that Volvo, according to police.
The name of the second shoplifting suspect is Stephanie Garcia, 31, of Espanola, (no relation to arrested suspect Ashley Garcia) and LAPD Det. Joseph Robinson has obtained a statewide arrest warrant against her for the following charges;
- Shoplifting (4th Degree Felony)
- Conspiracy (3rd Degree Felony)
Rio Arriba Count Sheriff’s Deputies and tips from citizens helped crack this case and uncover the identity of the second suspect.
Several days ago, Ashley Alexanda Garcia, 23, of Hernandez was arrested and charged with shoplifting, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and duty to give information and render aid in connection with the hit and run incident.
The situation began when LAPD Sgt. Daniel Roberts and Cpl. Ben Henrichs responded to Bealls after the two women reportedly fled the area in a silver four-door Volvo after striking a pedestrian with their vehicle while leaving the area. Det. Robinson later identified Ashley Garcia as one of the suspects but the identity of the second woman was unknown until now.
The Los Alamos Daily Post observed Garcia and another woman in the Los Alamos Magistrate Courtroom last week where Garcia was slated for preliminary examination before Judge Pat Casados. While court was in recess, she expressed concern that she was due at an appointment in Espanola at 11:20 a.m. in relation to a previous charge. As court proceedings were running behind, her defense attorney Michael Jones advised her to leave court and go to the Espanola appointment. Her preliminary hearing is rescheduled for May 4.
Last week’s court appearance involved another shoplifting incident, this time at Smith’s Marketplace, which occurred in June 2016. A request for an arrest warrant from that incident states that Ashley Garcia and Anthony Montoya placed an empty baby carrier in their shopping cart and loaded it with $675.25 worth of items including food and girls’ clothing. As they allegedly attempted to leave the store without paying, a store manager approached them and grabbed the cart but Garcia and Montoya grabbed the items from underneath the baby carrier and the baby carrier itself. The manager reported seeing Garcia and Montoya placing the baby carrier in the trunk of a car in the parking lot.
The next stop for Ashley Garcia and Stephanie Garcia is in front of a judge.
