Oct. 3—Nearly 50 guns — mostly hunting rifles — were seized from a home in Northeast Albuquerque by deputies who went to arrest a man accused of violating probation, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office said on Thursday.
Early morning Wednesday, BCSO and the U.S. Marshals Service conducted an operation to arrest Ruben Gonzales, 45, BCSO spokesperson Jayme Gonzales said in a release.
Gonzales had a warrant issued for his arrest August 5 after he absconded from probation, according to online court records. The probation stemmed from a 2023 conviction on a gun charge, auto theft and felony-level shoplifting.
The release states BCSO deputies created a perimeter early morning Wednesday around a home in the 1000 block of Betts in Northeast Albuquerque before activating the SWAT team. Using drones and a robot, deputies cleared the home and detained multiple people, including Gonzales and 40-year-old Uriah McAfee.
In total, 48 firearms were seized from the home, according to the release.
Gonzales “claimed responsibility for all the firearms,”, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. He told deputies nobody else inside the home “knew about” the guns.
“McAfee denied any knowledge of any firearms with the residence and the only illegal item he knew of could have been some narcotics,” the complaint states.
McAfee was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and Gonzales was arrested on multiple warrants.
The case has been referred to the FBI for federal charges and a further investigation into the weapons and what could potentially be a larger “criminal network,” Gonzales said.
“Taking nearly 50 firearms out of the hands of a convicted felon and criminal networks is a major win for the safety of Bernalillo County,” BCSO Sheriff John Allen said in a statement. “I’m proud of the proactive work our deputies are doing every day alongside our federal partners to take dangerous individuals off our streets and to keep these weapons from being used in further crimes.”