Farmington man faces felony shoplifting charge after retail spree, patrol car damage

Tyler R. Beletso, 33, faces at least one felony shoplifting count after police alleged he stole merchandise from multiple retail stores in Farmington and damaged a patrol vehicle during the encounter. The allegations push the case beyond a routine shoplifting stop and into a broader public-safety matter involving both retail loss and damage to law-enforcement property.

Booking records list Tyler Ray Beletso as having been booked into the San Juan County Detention Center on July 16, 2026, at 8:15 p.m. One of the listed charges was shoplifting-larceny involving $500 but not more than $2,500, a value range that can support felony-level prosecution in New Mexico. A separate booking record shows a July 12, 2026, booking tied to a warrant failure.

The case also stands out because police said the alleged thefts involved more than one store, suggesting investigators viewed it as a spree rather than an isolated lapse at a single register. Farmington Police have previously posted asking the public to help identify a suspect in a shoplifting incident at Walmart on West Main, underscoring how often that corridor draws police attention when retail theft cases surface.

The alleged damage to a patrol vehicle raises the stakes further. In cases like this, prosecutors can weigh not only the value of the merchandise, but also any property damage, possible restitution, and whether the arrest itself involved resistance or escalation. That can complicate a shoplifting case that might otherwise have stayed in lower court.

Beletso is presumed innocent unless convicted. If the case advances, it would be handled in San Juan County Magistrate Court in Farmington, part of the Eleventh Judicial District, where local theft and misdemeanor matters are commonly heard before more serious charges are moved through the system.