Source: United States Department of Justice News
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that Gael Rodriguez was sentenced on Nov. 1 to four years and nine months in prison for carjacking. Rodriguez, 20, a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty on March 23.
On Jan. 16, Rodriguez approached an elderly victim in northwest Albuquerque outside her apartment complex and asked her for a cigarette. The victim responded that she had no cigarettes and Rodriguez then demanded her purse and the keys for her vehicle. When the victim resisted, Rodriguez stabbed her hand with a knife, causing her to drop the keys. Rodriguez grabbed the keys and fled in the victim’s vehicle.
An Albuquerque Police Officer was dispatched to the scene and relayed a description of the vehicle and Rodriguez to the Rio Rancho and Corrales police departments. Police were able to locate the vehicle in Corrales. After a pursuit on foot, police subdued and arrested Rodriguez.
Upon his release from prison, Rodriguez will be subject to three years of supervised release and will be subject to deportation.
The FBI’s Albuquerque Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) investigated this case with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department and the Corrales Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaymie L. Roybal prosecuted the case.
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