SWAT raid misses burglary suspects

BELEN, N.M. (KRQE) - SWAT officers hunting three violent burglars moved in on a home on Eastside School Road prompting the lockdown of Rio Grande Elementary School for more than four hours.

Meanwhile an anonymous donor has come forward with a $500 reward for the return of irreplaceable family documents stolen in the burglary.

The three burglars--two men and a woman--broke into a home in Los Chavez just north of Belen on Wednesday.

When a neighbor used his truck to block them in, one of the thieves opened fire hitting the truck twice.

That's when the neighbor backed off and the burglars got away taking not just property but a lockbox containing important adoption papers.

Officers got a tip one of the suspects was in the home in Belen. Officers pulled two women out of the home and questioned them but they were later released. The suspects were not there.

"This is still under investigation," Sgt. John Gordon of the Valencia County Sheriff's Department said. "We are at this time following up on some leads, gathering some more information and continuing to work on the case."

The stolen lockbox Contained irreplaceable documents belonging to Denise Jaramillo's two adopted children, one from Ukraine, the other from china. Their original baby photos, birth certificates and journals were inside.

On Friday a woman called KRQE news 13 offering a $500 reward for the return of the box.

"When I was small my mom had a lot of our stuff at grandparents' house, and part of that house burned," said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous. "We lost birth certificates. We lost pictures. We lost everything there. We couldn't get it back.

"When I heard the story her stuff is still out there and it is still possible now for somebody because I know what it's like."

The woman says she helps one needy family every Christmas and couldn't think of a better family to help this year.

The Valencia County Sheriff's Department has issued arrest warrants for Jeremy Hicks, Josh Adams and a 15-year-old girl.