School on lockdown during incident
Man tackled, held after allegedly throwing rocks at vehicles, restaurant
East San Jose Elementary School was briefly put on lockdown Monday after two drivers chased a man onto the campus for throwing rocks at their vehicles.
Police said when they arrived at the school, they were flagged down by the men who had pinned 44-year-old Timothy Garcia on the ground.
Garcia was screaming and shouting that “he was afraid someone was going to get him,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, and he was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital due to his behavior.
The school was put on lock down for about 30 minutes around 1:30 p.m., which was lifted before parents were notified, said Monica Armenta, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Public Schools. No students were involved, she said.
Police said they initially responded to a nearby Blake’s Lotaburger on 2200 Broadway SE after the manager reported a man throwing rocks at vehicles and through the restaurant window.
The manager told police Garcia threw a softball-sized rock through the west window of the busy restaurant, causing between $500 and $600 worth of damage. No one was injured by the rock.
Before he allegedly broke the window at Blake’s, police said Garcia threw large rocks at vehicles traveling southbound on Broadway.
When a baseball-sized rock damaged his vehicle’s fender, a man got out and chased Garcia down, police said. He was joined by another man who told police Garcia broke his vehicle’s camper shell window with a rock.
Garcia punched one of the men in the face before the man was able to grab him around the waist and pull him to the ground, according to the complaint.
A third man reported damage to his windshield as well.
Garcia was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and criminal damage to property. He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on a $15,000 cash or surety bond.