Citizens help capture burglary suspect

SAGUACHE COUNTY — A man suspected of burglarizing a motor home in the Lazy KV Estates subdivision was quickly apprehended last week after victims and a witness collaborated to quickly identify and arrest him.
Alex Chavez, 24, of Aurora was charged with second-degree burglary, theft, first-degree criminal trespass and criminal mischief. The arrest came shortly after a Lazy KV resident notified the sheriff’s office May 31 that their motor vehicle had been broken into and burglarized, and several firearms, ammunition, binoculars and other items were missing.
According to a sheriff’s office report, Sheriff Dan Warwick and Undersheriff Jim McCloskey began actively searching for the suspect.
After speaking to the RV owner and obtaining a list of the items missing, Warwick was directed to a neighbor who the RV owner thought might have seen someone prowling around the area. The neighbor said s/he had taken a picture of the suspect.
Another neighbor gave a description of a Hispanic male s/he also had seen in the area and confronted for trespassing. In both cases the person described was carrying what appeared to be a cooler and had binoculars with him, one of the items stolen from the RV. He said he headed for an area in the subdivision now known as “drug alley,” because several marijuana greenhouses are located there.
While patrolling the Lazy KV and looking for the suspect, Warwick stopped and asked a construction worker if he had seen anyone matching his description. The man told him he had seen a man wearing binoculars and pointed in the direction of an area enclosed by an eight-foot fence.
On investigation, Warwick and McCloskey went into a construction site. They explained to the workers why they were there and were told the only one who had left the site that morning was Chavez. They then spoke to Chavez and asked for his ID.
After reading him his rights and questioning him, Chavez admitted to taking things from the motor home and returned some of the items to McCloskey. He then told Warwick and McCloskey where he had stashed the remaining guns. He denied taking the ammunition. He apologized for the burglaries and said he was sorry for what he had done.
Chavez then was arrested and taken to the Saguache County Jail.
Later another break-in was reported in the Lazy KV and this also was traced to Chavez. Nothing was taken from the home, but a door jam was damaged and replacement costs were estimated at $50.