ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Police shot a suspected vehicle thief who is in critical but stable condition after trying to escape officers in northeast Albuquerque.

This all happened around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday near Sandia Resort & Casino.

Officers were surveilling a person they had their eyes on for “around 2-3 weeks,” APD Chief Harold Medina said. The person, later identified as 35-year-old Nicholas Roach, reportedly had a felony probation violation warrant and was known as a frequent auto theft suspect to the Auto Theft Unit.

Police followed the suspect vehicle as it drove through the city and into the casino parking lot. As the vehicle tried leaving the lot, officers tried stopping it. An officer used the grappler system to shoot a nylon net from their patrol vehicle into the tires of the suspect vehicle.

The suspect vehicle stopped and two women got out. They reportedly complied with officers’ commands and were taken into custody.

A man was still in the vehicle. He reportedly jumped into the driver’s seat and took off with the net still tied attached to the grappler vehicle. According to Chief Medina, the suspect dragged the grappler vehicle “about 20-30 feet.”

At one point, officers say they heard shots coming from the vehicle so they returned fire. One of the gunshots struck the suspect.

The suspect is now in critical but stable condition at UNM Hospital. No officers were injured.

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