A homeless Albuquerque man who stole a state vehicle that was left unattended and crashed with two people in critical condition was scheduled to appear in court Thursday. John Bearden Jr. he was supposed to have his pretrial detention hearing Thursday morning, but it was canceled. According to police, on March 27 around 8:00 a.m., Bearden crashed a state-owned vehicle he stole into another car at San Pedro Drive and Bell Ave in Albuquerque. The two people in the other car are in critical condition. An official police report revealed that Bearden was able to steal the state-owned car because it was left running and unattended at the New Mexico Expo. We previously reported that the New Mexico Administrative Code states that someone authorized to drive a state vehicle must turn off the car and lock both the doors and the trunk. Now, we found out that there is an ordinance in Albuquerque that prohibits anyone from leaving a car running and unattended, if you do, you can get a ticket. “The reality is, one minute is all they need. That’s how it’s always been,” said Paul Szych, a public safety expert. Szych said people should always turn off their cars and lock them until even if it’s cold outside. He also said awareness is key to preventing anything from being stolen. “People need to start paying close attention to who’s in the cars that are parked around them. Pay attention to people about whom you have a strange feeling. A person may be sitting in a car for a reason. They might be waiting for you to come in, and then you come out and your stuff is gone,” Szych said. Bearden will now appear in court on April 10. His public safety assessment recommends that he be released.
A homeless Albuquerque man who stole a state vehicle that was left unattended and crashed with two people in critical condition was scheduled to appear in court Thursday.
John Bearden Jr. he was supposed to have his pretrial detention hearing Thursday morning, but it was canceled.
According to police, on March 27 around 8:00 a.m., Bearden crashed a state-owned vehicle he stole into another car at San Pedro Drive and Bell Ave in Albuquerque.
The two people in the other car are in critical condition.
An official police report revealed that Bearden was able to steal the state-owned car because it was left running and unattended at the New Mexico Expo.
We previously reported that the New Mexico Administrative Code states that someone authorized to drive a state vehicle must turn off the car and lock both the doors and the trunk.
Now, we found out that there is an ordinance in Albuquerque that prohibits anyone from leaving a car running and unattended, if you do, you can get a ticket.
“The reality is that one minute is all they need. That’s how it’s always been,” said Paul Szych, a public safety expert.
Szych said people should always turn off and lock their cars even if it’s cold outside. He also said awareness is key to preventing anything from being stolen.
“People need to start paying close attention to who’s in the cars that are parked around them. Pay attention to people you get a weird feeling about. A person might be sitting in a car for a reason. It’s possible that they’re waiting for you to come in, and then you come out and your stuff’s gone,” Szych said.
Bearden will now appear in court on April 10. His public safety assessment recommends that he be released.
