By Police1 Staff
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico officer’s first day on the job turned out to be a memorable one.
On Saturday, Officer Stephanie Cockerill was helping out a tenant who called about a noisy neighbor, KOAT reports. The officer told KOB 4 that when she ran the suspect’s name, “it came back in our national crime information center as a hit.”
“He had two felony warrants for a homicide and one was for failure to appear on that homicide,” Cockerill said.
Cockerill arrested 20-year-old Francisco Lopez, who was wanted in connection to a drive-by shooting that killed 14-year-old Isaiah Albright. A spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office said Lopez is believed to the driver of the vehicle. The spokesman added that even if Lopez didn’t fire the gun, he’ll still be charged as an accessory.
Cockerill said it felt good to get Lopez off the streets, especially during her first day on the job.
“To go through rigorous training in the academy for six months to make sure violent criminals are off the street, and I felt like I was doing exactly what I was trained to do,” Cockerill said.