Almost a month after being arrested for stealing a school vehicle, a Hobbs man was accused of using that stolen vehicle to burglarize another local business in the same night.
Colton Wayne Hampton, 29, was arrested on Friday for burglary, a fourth-degree felony.
A Lea County Sheriff’s Office report says a victim told officers someone had broken into his shop on the 3200 block N. Dal Paso, stealing a 30 pound freon tank.
The victim reported he came to the building in the morning, finding the door open and began going through the security footage.
The report states the security footage showed Hampton arriving at the workshop at 3:18 a.m. on March 29.
Hampton allegedly began going through the workshop and stealing items, including the freon tank, before leaving in the stolen school vehicle.
The next day the victim told officers he was contacted by Hobbs Municipal Schools, who had the freon tank.
On the day of the incident Hampton was arrested and charged with unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, burglary, and possession of controlled substance, all fourth-degree felonies; and failure to pay and tampering with evidence, both misdemeanor.
According to a Hobbs Police Department report, a school employee reported the vehicle was being driven around by an unknown male.
Officers found the stolen vehicle near Greyhound and College Lane, and arrested Hampton, who was driving the vehicle at the time.
According to the report, Hampton told the officer he traded “something to someone” for the vehicle.
Video footage and GPS activity for the stolen vehicle was given to police. The footage showed two suspects entering the school’s storage facility around 2 a.m. the day the vehicle was reported stolen, and the day before the victim reported his workshop was broken into. The video showed Hampton stealing the vehicle, according to the report.
As of Monday, Hampton is in the Lea County Detention Center for the arrest made on Friday. Hampton’s preliminary examination will be on May 28 at 2 p.m. with Magistrate Craig La Bree.