Five cars torched overnight in Four Hills neighborhood
April 20, 2011
Police are hunting for the people who set five cars on fire including one police car early Tuesday morning. The fires all happened within a few blocks of each other in the Four Hills area near Juan Tabo and Central. A woman living in the neighborhood who didn't want to be identified shared surveillance video with KOB Eyewitness News 4 from one of her security cameras placed at the front of her house. "Multiple people just started coming out of their houses and coming down this way - I mean it sounded like a bomb going off, it was loud," the woman explained as she showed the video. The video shows one of the suspects in the act as he broke into her truck parked in the driveway. "I don't know how this kid managed to set off our motion light - but he did," she said Her truck didn't burn but 5 others in the area did as the vandals pillaged the neighborhood. The video shows the street light-up from a fire and explosion from a neighbor's truck the flames were so intense it caused the vehicle to explode. Among the burnt vehicles were two cars with government plates; one being a police SUV belonging to Bernalillo Lt. Chris Stoyell. "Immediately my first reaction is to get my clothes on, get my firearm and badge," said Stoyell. He says he also grabbed an extinguisher and put out the flames he says the SUV is probably a total loss. "They're getting pretty brave when they start breaking in to police vehicles at that - especially right outside your house," said Stoyell. It was a very close call according to Bernalillo Police Chief Julian Gonzales. "Our first concern was that he was ok and also that there was no other equipment in there that could be used on the street for enhancing other crimes such as fire arms," he said. Albuquerque police have prints from the culprits and the woman with the surveillance cameras at her house says more are going up and the next time the neighborhood will be ready. "The neighbors will all gang together and we'll find them if they come back - believe me," she said.
