Second suspect charged in burglary of Albuquerque dealership

A man was charged on Feb. 18 months after he allegedly broke into the auto dealership he used to work at with a former coworker and caused thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Bryan Judy Jr., 20, of Albuquerque is charged with aggravated burglary, criminal damage over $1,000, larceny over $20,000, and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer in the Aug. 5 break-in.

Judy was arrested Wednesday, according to court records. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Judy’s family could not be reached for comment.

A second man involved in the incident, Daniel Candelaria, 21, of Albuquerque, was arrested four days after the break-in. On Feb. 10, he took a deal offered by prosecutors to plead guilty to aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon and larceny, according to court records.

During an interview with detectives, Candelaria told them Judy was his accomplice in the burglary, according to a criminal complaint filed at Metropolitan Court.

On Aug. 5, the Albuquerque Police Department responded to a call of two men causing damage inside American Toyota in the 5900 block of Alameda, near San Pedro. Security informed officers that two men wearing black ski masks were stealing items from the business, police said.

When officers arrived and started setting up a perimeter, they saw two men walking through the parking lot carrying items in their arms, the complaint states. As they tried leaving the property, they saw police, dropped the items and ran, police said.

One of the men — later identified as Candelaria — was seen “crouching behind” a conex storage container when officers heard noises on a nearby wall, according to the complaint. As officers got closer, they saw Candelaria climb a fence then run before getting caught, according to the complaint. Police released Candelaria when they could not get in touch with the store’s general manager and felt they did not have enough for an arrest.

Another manager later told police Candelaria and the other man spent about a half-hour inside the business, causing over $115,000 in damages, police said. On Aug. 9, Candelaria was arrested after police pulled over a pickup pulling a U-Haul outside the dealership.

On Feb. 3, Candelaria told police his accomplice was an ex-coworker named Judy and the manager told police Judy had been fired because of a “poor work ethic” and “frequent arguments with management,” police said. Candelaria told police while the two were drinking at Judy’s home on Aug. 5, Judy said he was angry with the company for firing him.

“Frustrated, he suggested that they ‘do something’ to the business in retaliation,” police said. “... Fueled by their grievances, the two devised a plan and began gathering items they believed they would need, including sledgehammers.”

Their intentions, Candelaria told police, were to go inside the business and “get back at ’em for screwing us over,” according to the complaint.