By Rebecca Hauschild
For the Artesia Daily Press

A rash of auto burglaries during November was a prime topic of discussion at the Dec. 10 Artesia City Council meeting.

Artesia Police Commander David Rodriguez said the 23 car break-ins were committed by juveniles working together. Firearms were stolen in seven of the burglaries and seven of the 23 vehicles were unlocked, Rodriguez said.

“There are 10 to 15 juveniles in a ring involved in these auto burglaries,” he said. “The majority of these juveniles have been kicked out of school. We have seven firearms out on the streets right now and that is not good. We had a shooting on Saturday night. We have some good suspects, and these suspects appear to be on the run or hiding out.”

Rodriguez said police suspect the juveniles may be involved in other crimes as well.

“We had an incident at the Emli Apartments on Richey Avenue,” he said. “A person doing a food delivery service was attacked, shot at and beaten up but refused to be a victim and report the crime. We think it may have been these same juveniles doing the auto burglaries.”

The police are using Nighthawk software to investigate the crimes. Rodriguez said.’

“The majority of our crimes deal with social media,” he said. “Every time somebody commits a crime, they want to brag about it on Facebook or Instagram. Nighthawk can retrieve information we need like photographs and text messages.

“We are hoping to use Nighthawk with these burglaries because a lot of these kids will start posting on social media. We are eventually going to have a break in these cases. It’s just a matter of time.”

Rodriguez urged residents to lock their vehicles and their doors at home.

Rodriguez also reported two robberies this fall, which is rare. In October a masked assailant took a vehicle. “It appears to be some type of a drug deal,” said Rodriguez. “We haven’t recovered the vehicle yet. Another robbery occurred in November where an individual attacked his ex-girlfriend and tried to strong arm a cell phone and other items.”

In other business, Community Development/Infrastructure Director Byron Landfair offered updates on community projects:

• The 26th Street bridge will be open for Christmas. Landfair said there will be a short-term temporary closure of the bridge in late spring or early summer for a surface coat that can’t be done in cold weather. The 26th Street rehab project will begin the first week of January with the first phase from Main Street to Grand Avenue and progressing south.

• The waterline replacement project on Grant Avenue will begin in the first quarter, starting at 13th Street and working its way west to 26th Street. “I apologize for the inconvenience to residents in that area,” said Landfair. “That waterline has given us fits in the past and don’t want to leave it for another two or three years and give us problems. Every time it breaks it affects more and more of the public.”

• The South 2nd Street and Richardson Avenue rehab project will begin the first quarter of 2025. “It’s full depth replacement of the roadway,” Landfair said. “We are taking it all the way down to subgrade and rebuilding the road. It will be on Richardson Avenue from 1st Street to what should be 3rd Street and going south three blocks.”