LEA COUNTY, N.M. — Lea County Sheriff's Office has made an arrest in a stolen property incident.
29-year-old Steven Lopez was selling stolen items on Facebook when investigators located his page and saw a white utility trailer for sale at $1,200.
Investigators were able to go to Lopez's residence and find the trailer that had recently been painted white. They also noticed the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) had been tampered with.
Lopez was contacted by investigators told them that he had purchased the trailer and had the title for it. Upon further investigation, it was found out that Lopez was lying about his purchase and that the trailer's original VIN was behind a manufactured one.
Soon after this, Lopez was arrested in Lovington for an unrelated issue, which led to his charges against him for Receiving Stolen Property and Tampering with Evidence. Lopez was released on February 17 on a $1,000 unsecured appearance bond.
