Residents of a previously serene Albuquerque neighborhood are criticizing city officials’ response to the surge in crime allegedly related to renters that built an underground bunker.
The neighbors say there was a rise in stolen cars, stolen packages, and other nuisances after the newest renters moved in. Some of the incidents have been caught on video.
‘There was concrete. There were bricks inside. It was pretty large. That was built into the backyard of the house that led into the joining arroyo.’
The Esquibels have been in the neighborhood for several years but noticed the change in the last year.
“We moved here originally because we loved it,” Alandra Esquibel said to KOAT-TV. “We thought the location was great.”
The couple caught one person urinating near their property through surveillance video.
“You could see them coming in with bags, thuggish and homeless people,” Joshua Esquibel said.
Police records show that there were nearly 50 calls to the neighborhood in the last year before code enforcement discovered a tunnel leading to an underground bunker.
“It was a large dug-in tunnel network. It had support structures,” said Commander Chris Patterson of the Albuquerque Police Department. “There was concrete. There were bricks inside. It was pretty large. That was built into the backyard of the house that led into the joining arroyo.”
Police believe the bunker was being used by criminals as a hideout.
“There’s definitely some auto thefts that we’ve been able to track back to it,” Patterson continued. “Some property crimes, porch packages being stolen from porches, luggage items taken from people’s cars, so some auto break-ins. And then obviously we think there’s probably also a drug nexus as well.”
Despite all of the incidents, the renters were allowed to stay at the home.
The Esquibels and others question why city officials haven’t used a provision that allows them to condemn a property that has three criminal acts in the span of three months.
A code enforcement official said the division did not trigger the nuisance ordinance because it did not know about the police calls.
The tunnel has been filled in, but the residents worry there will be more crime if the renters aren’t moved out.
“This community is super scared because of the fact that they’re still there,” Alandra Esquibel said. “Maybe they’re renting out the bunker? I have no idea.”
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Albuquerque police, Tunnel and underground bunker, New mexico crime surge, City officials ignore crime, Crime
