‘Joy ride’ ends with theft, kidnap, battery charges

Son of vehicle owner hops in back of truck as it is stolen from driveway

Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a man who they say stole a truck from a North Valley home and took it for a “joy ride” to Northeast Albuquerque with the owner’s son in the bed.

BCSO Sgt. Aaron Williamson said a family was warming up their truck outside their home on the 7000 block of Rio Grande NW on Thursday morning when someone in a silver car drove up.

A passenger — later identified as 33-year-old John Bowker — got out, ran toward the family’s truck and jumped in, while the silver car’s driver left the area, Williamson said.

The truck owner’s 26-year-old son jumped in the back to try to stop Bowker, Williamson said.

“The vehicle fled from the residence and went on a short little joy ride, if you will, with the son in the back of the truck,” Williamson said.

He said a family member called deputies and the son was on the phone with deputies giving them real-time location updates. They didn’t chase the truck because the son was in the back, Williamson said.

The son was able to jump out at San Pedro and Osuna when the driver slowed down, and deputies found the stolen truck nearby on the 7000 block of Downey NE.

They immediately set up a perimeter to search for Bowker and caught him a short time later hiding in someone’s yard.

Bowker will be charged with unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, kidnapping and aggravated battery.

Deputies don’t know the identity of the driver who dropped off Bowker, but are still investigating.

Nobody was seriously injured, but the son had some minor bruises and scrapes, Williamson said.

He said jumping in a car as it’s being stolen isn’t a safe way to deal with auto theft.

“There’s nothing in a vehicle worth losing a life over,” he said. “We’re just happy it turned out the way that it did.”