APD: Neighboring shop owner shoots alleged burglar

A neighboring business owner shot and injured a man who allegedly broke into a Northeast Albuquerque collectible trading card shop early Sunday.

Joseph Montoya, 37, of Albuquerque, is charged with aggravated burglary, larceny over $2,500, larceny of a firearm, tampering with evidence and criminal damage, less than $1,000. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

The man who shot Montoya is not being charged, Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said in a news release Monday.

On Sunday morning, officers responded to a burglary call at Cardboard Collectors in the 500 block of Washington NE, near Lomas.

One of the owners told police that around 5:30 a.m., he received an alarm notification indicating the store was being burglarized, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. When he arrived, the front door had been pried open and trading cards were stolen, police said.

The man told police he saw video surveillance showing two people entering the store, the complaint states.

As two people were grabbing merchandise off the shelves, a neighboring business owner told them to stop, police said. One of the men — later identified as Montoya — ducked behind a counter. As he got up and pulled his hands out of his pockets, the neighboring business owner thought he had a gun and shot Montoya in the stomach, according to the complaint.

Montoya then approached the man, "causing him to fire his revolver again," before Montoya and the other man rushed the shooter, police said. A fight ensued, and one of the men took the business owner's firearm before the two drove off, the complaint states.

Montoya checked himself into a hospital, where he told police the shooting was an accident, according to a pretrial motion filed in 2nd Judicial District Court.

Around 4 p.m., police searched Montoya's house and found the gun used in the shooting, clothing with blood on it, and about 10 bags filled with Pokémon and sports cards, according to the complaint.

Prior to Sunday's incident, Montoya was involved in multiple burglaries, including in August and December, when he allegedly broke into two Northeast Albuquerque apartments. Those cases were dismissed after an officer and witness failed to appear in court, according to court records.

Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.