A Hobbs man is facing 18 felony charges following his arrest on Tuesday and is suspected in several August auto burglaries.
Anthony McCants, 20, is charged with one count of aggravated burglary, a second-degree felony; eight counts of auto burglary and nine counts of conspiracy to commit burglary, both fourth-degree felonies.
He was arraigned Tuesday in Hobbs Magistrate Court and given a $1,000 cash/surety bond by Judge Craig LaBree, according to the Hobbs Police Department. A $1,000 unsecured bond was set on the concealing identity charge.
“The Hobbs Police Department has responded to numerous auto burglaries over the last several months, the majority of which involved theft from unlocked vehicles,” the department announced Tuesday. “Through the course of the investigations, Anthony McCants, 20, of Hobbs, was developed as a suspect.”
Hobbs police located McCants in the early Tuesday morning hours and arrested him on an outstanding warrant for concealing identity, the department stated. The criminal complaint indicates McCants was found last Friday underneath a pickup truck in the 600 block of South Eighth St. after an officer saw his legs “sticking out.” He allegedly gave a different last name and said he was from Farmington. Hobbs police said Tuesday that McCants confessed to committing several auto burglaries, which included the theft of cameras, sunglasses, laptops and a firearm.
A separate criminal complaint states another suspect in the case, Hobbs resident Tahjric Collins, also 20, was arrested Saturday on two counts of accessory to burglary, a fourth-degree felony; and criminal failure to pay, a petty misdemeanor.
