For Immediate Release:
March 18, 2022
Contact: Jerri Mares — (505) 321-4372
ALBUQUERQUE, NM— Attorney General Hector Balderas announces yet another apprehension in a series of arrests related to organized retail crime. On Tuesday, March 15, 2022, Brianna Garcia was pulled over and arrested in Beckham County, Oklahoma. Garcia first came to law enforcement and the Attorney General’s attention in January of this year after committing a number of shopliftings across Albuquerque. Those incidents quickly devolved into violence when Garcia was confronted by store associates.
“Another armed felon is off the streets, and the Organized Retail Crime Task Force will continue to expand to reduce the level of violence in our communities,” said Attorney General Balderas.
Garcia brandished a handgun on several occasions, pointing it at the employees as she made her escape, and even discharging her firearm in the parking lot after walking out of one store. Those acts of violence culminated on February 1, 2022 when Garcia fired a number of shots at the front door of a busy neighborhood Walmart after being confronted over a petty misdemeanor theft.
The Office of the Attorney General is prosecuting the case, and Garcia is pending extradition from Oklahoma back to New Mexico to face criminal charges.
Although Garcia has been arrested, she is presumed innocent until proven guilty at trial. This case was investigated as part of the emerging Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Task Force. The investigation involved the NM Office of the Attorney General, Albuquerque Police Department (APD), and asset protection personnel from the retail community.
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