NEWS
Suspect arrested after monthslong bus vandalism spree
Police used license plate readers to trace a vehicle at the scenes to the alleged vandal
An Albuquerque man has been charged with 15 felony counts of property damage after allegedly vandalizing multiple city buses over a period of five months.
Tom Jimenez, 76, was arrested after what city officials say was a monthslong investigation into a vandalism spree beginning in October in which 15 buses were struck by projectiles. Most of the incidents occurred along Central.
Upon analyzing video footage of the incidents captured by the buses, detectives noticed the same vehicle traveling opposite the buses in the moments before they were hit, Albuquerque Police Department officials said.
Automatic license plate readers traced the vehicle, a 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander, back to Jimenez, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. A 2014 Nissan Frontier also registered to Jimenez was spotted at the scene of a December vandalism incident on Coors, city officials said.
In an incident Feb. 4, Jimenez’s car was recorded passing a bus, making a U-turn to get behind it, and then pulling up along the driver’s side, police said. APD detectives said footage of the incidents showed the driver’s side window of Jimenez’s vehicle rolled down, even in cold weather.
Police found a small metal ball at the scene of two of the incidents.
Jimenez was arrested on a no-bond warrant issued Wednesday. It is unclear if he has been assigned an attorney.
No one was hurt during the incidents, city officials said, though the damages cost the city's Transit Department about $80,000.
City of Albuquerque Transit Director Leslie Keener credited the city’s coordinated effort and the license plate reader technology with catching the bus vandal.
“This outcome sends a clear message: don’t mess with transit,” Keener said.
Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.
