Man arrested after allegedly stealing $50,000 worth of copper piping

A man is behind bars after allegedly stealing over $50,000 worth of metal and copper piping from an aviation company in Albuquerque.

Joseluis Quezada, 33, is charged with larceny over $20,000, criminal damage to property, trafficking controlled substances, attempt to commit a felony and other lesser charges. He was arrested and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Tuesday.

He does not yet have an attorney.

Albuquerque police were dispatched to the Eclipse Aerospace (formerly named Eclipse Aviation), near Interstate 25 and Sunport Blvd — after an employee called and said that someone had broken into the business, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. 

The employee told police that two men, the second of which was not identified, had broken into the property around 2 a.m. and had used power tools to dismantle an HVAC unit to cut out the metal components from within, including copper piping in the units, the complaint states. Eclipse Aerospace said at least $50,000 worth of metal was stolen from the business. 

A senior executive at Eclipse Aerospace said it costed $120,000 to replace the HVAC unit and certain operations at the business were halted due to the broken HVAC system.

"The welding unit, as well as the test lab facilities both have to have chilled water so when that unit was destroyed, we lost the ability to do that," he said. "It shut operations down for several days. We bought a replacement unit but it's not reinstalled yet."

Officers obtained video footage that showed the two men break into the property using wire cutters to break a fence while holding mechanical and power tools, according to the complaint. 

"Both began using power drills and mechanical wrenches to dismantle sections of the unit and obtain property from within," the complaint states. "(Quezada) carried property from the encaged section to his getaway vehicle outside the property."

The senior executive said the business had to pay nearly $20,000 to repair the fencing after it was cut.

Police used a facial recognition database and a previous mugshot to identify Quezada and he was arrested shortly after.

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.