Santa Fe police arrested a man recently who, they say, has committed numerous burglaries and thefts in recent months.
George Montoya, 50, was arrested Saturday and charged with 21 felony counts stretching back to July, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Montoya faces 13 counts of residential burglary, one count of attempted burglary, three counts of fraudulent use of a credit card and four counts of theft of a credit card, a criminal complaint states. The complaint lists 10 residences Montoya is accused of breaking into, mostly on Luisa Street and at Brookdale Santa Fe on Alta Vista; he is accused of breaking into one unit three times and faces three charges.
Police went to the 900 block of West Cordova Road on Saturday in response to calls about a suspicious person, and Montoya ran from officers and hid in a crawlspace between two businesses, police wrote in a news release.
Bystanders “directed officers to the crawlspace,” police wrote, and Montoya was arrested “without further incident.”
Police charged Montoya with larceny and two counts of receiving stolen property, alleging he stole a wallet from someone at Trader Joe’s grocery store nearby, the release says.
Police noted Montoya has a lengthy criminal history dating to 1992, including burglary, motor vehicle burglary, fraud, stalking, fraudulent use of a credit card, identity theft, battery and aggravated assault against a household member with a deadly weapon.
“The Santa Fe Police Department would like to thank the community for their awareness which led to the arrest of Mr. Montoya,” officers wrote.
