A burglar, who apologized to a homeowner and left $200 for the window he broke to gain entry to the home, was arrested Monday in the same area as the incident.
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office deputies were patrolling the area of Rodeo and Galisteo roads when they located a person who fit the description from the Sunday incident on Vereda Serena.
Teral Christesson, 34, was arrested and booked into the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center on charges of aggravated burglary, criminal damage to property and larceny.
“(Christesson) did confess to the detectives about the burglary at the home where he was found,” sheriff’s office spokesman Juan Rios said Tuesday.
The homeowners returned Sunday afternoon to find dirty dishes in the sink, empty beer bottles and a man in a back room. The man had apparently bathed and slept in the home while the owners were away.
The suspect picked up a duffel bag and an AR-15 scoped rifle he had, apologized to the homeowner, and dropped $200 on a living room chair on his way out, saying it “was reimbursement for the window he broke,” a report said.
When asked why he was in the home, the man said “his family was killed in East Texas and he was running from somebody.”
The suspect told the owner his vehicle broke down 100 miles outside of town.
___
(c)2022 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
