APD arrests 19-year-old during Downtown Operation targeting underage drinking and firearms
ALBUQUERQUE – APD detectives and officers arrested a 19-year-old during an operation in Downtown overnight that targeted underage individuals with guns in parking garages. The arrest comes one week after a 17-year-old was murdered in another Downtown parking garage.
Detectives observed a vehicle with two people drive into the parking lot at 1 Central Ave. around 12:49 a.m. They parked the vehicle on the top floor of the structure, exited the car and approached a group of individuals. The passenger appeared to argue with another male before returning to the passenger side of the vehicle and retrieving an AR-15-style rifle. He concealed the rifle in his pant leg and under his shirt as he re-approached the male he was arguing with. They exchanged words and the other male walked away. The detective saw the passenger expose the gun at one point before concealing it again.
As detectives called for additional officers in marked patrol units, the people in the garage yelled, “Cops,” and started loading into vehicles. Officers began issuing commands to the two individuals in the vehicle with the passenger seen with the gun. The occupants did not comply with the commands. The driver reversed the vehicle, and as he drove forward, he hit several cars, including a marked police car.
Officers used a tire-deflation device at the bottom of the parking garage to deflate the vehicle’s tires. The driver continued to flee from police, but came to a stop at 3rd St. and Gold Ave. Both individuals fled on foot. Officers caught up to the driver, later identified as Steven Robles, and took him into custody.
The vehicle was sealed, pending a search warrant, but officers saw a black AR-15 rifle and a black handgun in the front seat of the vehicle.
Robles was charged with Aggravated Fleeing of a Law Enforcement Officer and Resisting/Evading. He was booked into the Metro Detention Center.