Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office Speaks Out on Teen Crime

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Teens and children are the root cause of crime in the community, Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said during a press conference about the work they have done to reduce crime. The sheriff stressed that the increase in violent crime committed by teens must be addressed.

“Young people are the drivers of crime in Bernalillo County,” Allen said. To illustrate the point, the sheriff, joined by Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman and other local officials, highlighted the arrest of three teenagers suspected of killing a 16-year-old in May.

“The case we're highlighting today is meant to show you how young people are the drivers of crime; but these are multifaceted crimes and the approaches range from misdemeanors to felonies, from street racing to speeding to violent crime all the way to the tip of the spear, which is homicide,” Allen said.

On May 19, police received a call in Pajarito Mesa, southwest of Albuquerque, where Jesus Quintana Cota, 16, was found shot to death. Three suspects, Daniel Medrano Garcia (18), Mariana Gomez (18) and Dominik Marquez (17), were arrested on June 27. The sheriff said they were all juveniles at the time of the killing.

“This was a financial dispute and also a possible retaliation for a previous incident between these parties,” said Detective Cameron Carroll of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office. He said it was a planned and targeted incident.

“For these juveniles, this is another example of the terrible increase in violent crime among juveniles in our community,” Bregman said. “Unfortunately, it also speaks to the fact that our juvenile criminal justice system is broken.”

Bregman said children are not held in juvenile detention centers unless their crime involves a gun; that juvenile probation is ineffective; and that the Children's Code has not been updated since the 1970s. Sheriff Allen said the Youth Services Center, where these minors are being held, is nearly full.

“The 60-day session starts in January and I think we really need, as a community, as a legislature and as a whole, to come together and update this Children's Code,” Bregman said.

The sheriff says social media plays a big role in illegal street racing and illegal activity and has a message to the community: “When you use any type of social media and you seek to outrun law enforcement, whether it’s BCSO or any other law enforcement entity, we’re going to come after you.”

The sheriff also highlighted arrest and citation statistics from their recent operations. He noted that during recent drag racing operations, they made five misdemeanor arrests and ten felony arrests; issued 24 highway racing tickets; made three DUI arrests; recovered one firearm; issued 77 speeding tickets; conducted 238 traffic stops; and issued 264 other tickets.

The sheriff said they were doing 27 to 30 operations a month.