APD arrests burglary suspect
Man charged with auto theft for 5th time
When Albuquerque police say they found a man sleeping in a stolen SUV with a gun in his lap and the words “F the police” written on the window, it set off a string of events that included a home break in, another stolen car and a high-speed pursuit Tuesday morning.
The suspect, Dustin Ferguson, 29, was arrested about 10 miles away. He is charged with aggravated burglary, robbery and other crimes.
This is the fifth time Ferguson has been charged with possessing or stealing a vehicle this year, according to online court records. Three of those cases had been dismissed by the state and he was wanted in the fourth case when police spotted him Tuesday.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, around 7:35 a.m. an offduty police officer spotted a man, later identified as Ferguson, asleep in a silver Honda Pilot near Ventana West park on the city’s West Side. The officer got ready for work and in the meantime two other police officers arrived to check on the situation.
Ferguson fled. “Officers backed away and Dustin Allan Ferguson drove into the Ventana West area,” an officer wrote in the complaint. “The vehicle was abandoned in the area of Ventana Azul. Dustin Allan Ferguson ran from the vehicle and officers got to run the vehicle identification number. The vehicle was found to be reported stolen locally.”
Later police found a pistol that had been abandoned near the SUV.
As officers set up a perimeter, they say Ferguson entered a home through an unlocked front door. The woman who lived in the home later told police that Ferguson pleaded with her to hide him and when she told him no, went into the kitchen as if he was looking for a knife.
The woman said Ferguson demanded her keys and, afraid for her three children, she gave them to him.
Officers then spotted Ferguson fleeing in the woman’s blue Honda, according to the complaint. They gave chase.
“Officers reported that Dustin Allan Ferguson was driving on the wrong side of traffic and was reckless in his driving with no regard for others safety,” an officer wrote in the complaint. “Air 5 followed the vehicle as Dustin Allan Ferguson drove through the northwest area command.”
They set up spike strips and Ferguson eventually came to a stop on Edith north of Paseo del Norte.
Police say he was trying to break into another home when he was caught by the K9 unit. He hadn’t been booked into the county jail as of Tuesday evening.