‘Serial’ robber averaged 1 armed robbery every 5 days for months, New Mexico cops say

A New Mexico man was arrested this week on accusations of being a “serial” robber responsible for 42 armed robberies in just seven months, according to the Albuquerque Police Department.

That’s an average of six robberies per month — or about one every five days

Dairon Romero, 25, was arrested Feb. 28 “on warrants stemming from dozens of armed robberies,” police said in a March 1 news release.

“Romero was first on APD’s Armed Robbery Unit radar after carjacking a pregnant mother and her small children at the Walmart located at 8000 Wyoming Blvd,” police said.

“Immediately after this incident, Romero became a suspect as an active serial robbery offender who was seen on surveillance video committing multiple commercial robberies. Investigators noticed Romero began robbing businesses consisting of hotels, cell phone shops, gas stations, and clothing stores.”

Investigators say their suspect often wore a mask, complicating efforts to make an identification.

A break in the case came when the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force joined the investigation, and helped identify Romero, officials said. That allowed the police department to get search warrants and make an arrest.

The federal Armed Robbery/Violent Crimes Task Force is taking over the case, officials said. A specific list of charges againt Romero was not released.

“This individual was victimizing businesses and citizens in our city for months, eluding police,” Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said in the release.

“I’m grateful for our partnerships that helped apprehend this violent offender and get him off the streets.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 6:58 AM.