Tesla camera catches break-in at Albuquerque parking lot

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – An Albuquerque woman sent KOB 4 a video of thieves breaking into her Tesla outside her gym this weekend.

"As soon as I walked over, I saw the glass on the floor, I saw crow bar marks, I saw the scratches."

The woman, who wanted to stay anonymous, said she was at the Defined Fitness near Central and Unser Sunday when thieves broke into her Tesla. The car’s security system caught the suspects on cameras.

She said the thieves also broke into a college student’s car and stole her backpack.

"It didn’t matter where you parked, she had a Civic and I had you know a Tesla, so it didn’t what kind of car you had, they were just looking for stuff," she said.

This was not the first break-in at a Defined fitness parking lot.

Albuquerque police arrested Nicole Padilla in 2019 after she reportedly broke into cars at the Juan Tabo location. Padilla told police she went after gym parking lots on purpose, because she knew the owners would be busy inside.

The woman told KOB 4 more security could help stop this problem.

"I think if there was a presence out here at all times, then there wouldn’t be any issues. I mean Walgreens has security, Walmart has security, you know, it’s any kind of corporation where there’s multiple vehicles parked needs security apparently because this city is crime-ridden."

Defined Fitness sent KOB 4 this statement about the incidents:

“Unfortunately, car break-ins are not new to businesses in Albuquerque, especially at this time of year. As a local business owner, we work closely with local law enforcement including the Albuquerque Police Department to provide video footage and we regularly utilize the mobile crime unit at all our clubs as an added security measure for our members. Currently, we have a mobile video surveillance tower at our Mesa Club to deter theft and crime in the area surrounding our club. We have also proactively upgraded all our external surveillance cameras in the past year to high definition cameras in an effort to assist law enforcement in clearly identifying criminals. The health and safety of our members is our top priority as is evidenced by the proactive measures we are taking to prevent crime at our clubs. We encourage our members and our entire community to take steps to deter theft by locking up valuables.”