Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A Tucumcari man briefly was jailed last week after being accused of robbing another man of his cellphone and demanding money from the victim to give it back.
Raymond Pacheco, 55, was booked on a complaint of robbery, extortion and battery. The robbery and extortion counts are third-degree felonies that can lead up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
According to a complaint filed in magistrate court by Tucumcari Patrolman Tyler Davis, the victim told the officer he was walking in an alley April 13 near George Molinas Park and encountered Pacheco.
“Pacheco approached him, grabbed him by the back of the neck and took his phone,” Davis wrote. Pacheco then left for his home.
The victim told the office he was afraid to go home without his cellphone, valued at $150, because his mother had just purchased it for him. He instead walked to Pacheco’s home to try to retrieve it.
The victim told the officer he confronted Pacheco at his home and asked for his phone back. Pacheco responded by saying he would return the phone if he paid $20. The victim refused and went home.
Davis said he found Pacheco near his home and asked about the cellphone. He denied taking it and said he was in a nearby alley, where he had just met with the victim to retrieve keys.
The patrolman went to the victim’s home and asked whether he’d met with Pacheco after talking to the officer. He denied meeting with Pacheco after the robbery. His mother also said the victim was asleep on the couch during that time.
Pacheco was booked into the Quay County Detention Center the evening of April 16 after Judge Timothy O’Quinn found probable cause. He was ordered released by a judge the next day. No attorney was listed for Pacheco in online court records.
