Los Alamos police seek owners of $50,000 in recovered stolen property
Police are sorting more than $50,000 in stolen property tied to a burglary ring, and some owners may not know their belongings were taken.
Los Alamos police are trying to match more than $50,000 in recovered stolen property with the people who lost it, while prosecutors have re-filed an amended criminal complaint against Nehemiah Hillhouse and Gunner Stacy in Los Alamos Magistrate Court. More than 70 charges have already been filed in the case, and investigators expect more as they identify victims and connect recovered items to ownership records.
Detective Cindy Garcia executed three search warrants during the investigation, and the property is now being sorted for return. Police say the haul includes valuables, tools, electronics and other belongings that may have been taken in burglaries and breaking-and-entering cases spread across Los Alamos County, Sandoval County and nearby federal lands, including U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service areas. That wider footprint has made the case more complicated than a single neighborhood burglary, and it also means some victims may not yet realize their property was among the items recovered.
The case began to widen after officers responded about 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 17 to reports of two men returning to J&L Storage. Gunner Stacy, Nehemiah Hillhouse and Samantha Lopez were later arrested. Stacy and Hillhouse were charged with fleeing, criminal damage to property, four counts of burglary and four counts of possession of burglary tools. Stacy also faces a possession of fentanyl charge.
Two days later, on Feb. 19, officers executed a search warrant at a residence in Jemez Springs tied to the arrests and recovered about $10,000 in suspected stolen property linked to cases in Los Alamos County, Jemez Springs and Jemez Pueblo. Investigators also seized explosive devices and components used to assemble non-serialized firearms.
The geography of the case underscores how far the impact can reach. Los Alamos County had an estimated population of 19,675 on July 1, 2024, while Sandoval County’s estimate was 157,757, and Jemez Springs draws visitors as a tourist destination near the Santa Fe National Forest and Valles Caldera Preserve. That means property owners could include residents, commuters, visitors and people who passed through the region only briefly.
Anyone who believes a recovered item may be theirs should contact Detective Cindy Garcia through Los Alamos police dispatch at 505-662-8222.
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