Two arrested in series of robberies in March, April
Albuquerque Police Department detectives arrested two men they said were involved in multiple robberies, including of cannabis dispensaries, since March 19.
Shakeam Kinney, 29, and Lalonzo James Simmons, 43, were booked into the county jail Wednesday. Kinney is charged with armed robbery, conspiracy and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Simmons is charged with three counts each of armed robbery and conspiracy. In jail records, Simmons is referred to as Alonzo James Simmons.
“Detectives with the Armed Robbery Unit tied Kinney and Simmons to three other armed robberies they were investigating,” APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos wrote in an email. “With help from several APD agencies, they tracked the men down at separate locations and served search warrants.”
Detectives first started investigating when the Subway on Gibson SE near San Pedro was robbed on March 19. The suspects were armed with handguns and assault rifles and fired their weapons, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
A couple of days later the same gun was used in a shooting at an apartment complex less than half a mile away on Madeira SE.
It is unclear if anyone was injured in that shooting, but the offender was identified from surveillance video as Kinney, according to the complaint. Simmons’ car was spotted at one of the robberies, according to the complaint and detectives quickly began to suspect the pair had teamed up.
On May 1, police say the duo struck again, this time at a cannabis dispensary.
According to the complaint, surveillance video captured both suspects entering Urban Wellness on San Mateo NE near Candelaria and filling up two bags, one with cash and the other with marijuana. The vehicle used in the robbery, a stolen white pickup truck, was found in southeast Albuquerque less than two hours later and both men were taken into custody.
When Simmons was interviewed he told detectives he was involved in the robberies at Subway and Urban Wellness as well as one at Mother Earth Herbs, another dispensary, in early April, according to the complaint.
Gallegos said federal charges are also being pursued against the two men.