Homeowner holds B&E suspect at gunpoint
Hobbs police officers responded to a break-in call at a East Copper residence on Monday and found the homeowner holding the suspect at gunpoint.
Around 12:12 a.m. Monday, Hobbs officers were dispatched to a residence in the 500 block of East Copper for breaking and entering. Officers found a front window of the home had been shattered. Upon entry, officers found Timothy Salazar, 33, of Hobbs lying in a prone position on the ground as the “homeowner had given verbal directives at gunpoint to do so,” according to the criminal complaint. The suspect, Salazar, reportedly told police he broke into the house to “get help,” and had a bleeding wound on his hand consistent with cuts from glass.
“Salazar also stated that he had been knocking on multiple doors and had climbed on a roof prior to police arrival as he was avoiding being attacked by two people,” the complaint reads. “He told officers that one of the people attacking him had a bat.”
In the complaint, Hobbs police wrote that the homeowner reported he was in the living room watching TV with his daughter when he heard the doorbell ringing several times. After it stopped ringing, the homeowner reported the front living room window was shattered by Salazar. Hobbs police also saw “several blood smears” and drops on the floor and living room furniture.
“He (the homeowner) told officers that he immediately instructed his daughter to go to the bedroom as he observed Salazar coming into the residence through the shattered window,” the complaint states. “He said he followed his daughter into his bedroom and retrieved his handgun.”
The homeowner also stated he saw Salazar approaching the bedroom down the hallway and pointed the gun at Salazar, ordering him to get on the floor. He said Salazar stopped and laid on the floor before telling the homeowner that four males were after him and trying to hurt him. The homeowner showed police the gun he had, confirmed he didn’t know Salazar and told police he believed Salazar was trying to get into the neighboring home, but entered his instead. The broken window had an estimated value of $250.
In part of his police interview, Salazar reportedly said he’d been in an altercation outside of a Hobbs restaurant and a man approached him wanting to fight. The interview occurred at Lea Regional Medical Center where he’d been taken for medical treatment.
“He said he agreed to mutual combat with the male and was being directed across the street to the cemetery ground north of the establishment,” the complaint states. “He said the male told him, ‘You know you’re done,’ as he signaled for someone else to get involved.”
Afterward, Salazar alleged an unknown male came on a bicycle, approached him with a bat and hit him several times. Salazar then fled, hid from the men on a roof and later started knocking on residences for help.
“He told me he broke the window to the residence and went inside to avoid being hurt,” the complaint states. “He then changed his statement and said he was going to his cousin’s house, but couldn’t explain why he chose to go into the residence where he was apprehended.”
Hobbs police arrested Salazar and charged him with breaking and entering, a fourth-degree felony. He was booked at the Hobbs City Jail.
Online court records reflect Salazar has prior criminal cases. He has January charges that are pending in Lovington District Court, which include felon in possession of a firearm and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. He’s set for an Aug. 27 pre-trial conference in that case.