Perpetrators caught after spotted on Flock camera in Thatcher
By Jon Johnson
jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com
SAFFORD – A couple of anointed AirBnB burglars who reportedly stole credit cards and the victim’s automobile were caught following a short police pursuit through Pima after they were spotted on a Flock camera on Sunday. The defendants, later identified as Damian Maldonado, 22, and Marcus Rios, 19, were apprehended after a short foot chase after they crashed the car in a cotton field west of Pima.
According to police reports, authorities were initially dispatched at about 7 a.m. on Sunday to a short-term rental residence in the 1000 block of 9th Ave. regarding a stolen vehicle. Upon arrival, the victim advised that after getting up for the morning and taking her dogs out she noticed her vehicle was missing.
The victim stated that the previous night she had been locked out of the rental and had to have the owner grant her access. At that time, she had thought maybe her dog had accidentally hit the latch, and the owner went through and said the residence was secure. However, the victim felt uneasy the rest of the night, so she shut herself in the front bedroom and tried to sleep. At that time, her keys were in her Kors purse along with her identification and credit cards – all of which would be missing the following morning.
The victim questioned how the suspects could have gotten into the residence to steal her purse and wondered if they had knowledge of the code for the lock. The officer contacted an owner of the property who stated while they periodically change the code they don’t do it after every renter and that it had been a couple of months since they last changed it.
After filling out a stolen vehicle affidavit, a Safford officer checked the city’s Flock cameras but there were no hits since the theft. However, a neighbor’s residential security camera was also checked and showed the victim’s 2016 Kia Sorento leaving the residence at about 5:30 a.m.
Later in the day at about 2:26 p.m., a Flock camera captured the stolen vehicle as it headed northbound on Reay Lane from Golf Course Road. Thatcher officers attempted to stop the vehicle near Pima, however it failed to yield . The pursuit didn’t last long, as the Kia crashed into a cotton field just north of milepost 332 west of Pima.
Two occupants emerged from the vehicle and fled on foot. Officers from Pima, Thatcher, and Safford then chased them down and took them into custody. The suspects, identified as Damian Izrael Maldonado, 22, and Marcus Rios, 19, were arrested and booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility.
Maldonado was booked on charges including theft of means of transportation, burglary in the first degree, theft of credit cards, and possession of stolen credit cards. His bond was later set at $100,000. Rios was found in possession of a Glock 43X and two magazines and was booked on charges including theft of means of transportation and misconduct involving weapons. His bond was also later set at $100,000.
