This story was originally published by City Desk ABQ.
Two Albuquerque residents were startled as they waited for a friend at a Circle K on Wednesday when—over the loud-speaker of a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office truck—they were ordered to leave.
“Get the fuck outta here,” they reported hearing. “Get the fuck outta here, or I’m going to take your fucking soul.”
That’s what police say Criminal Investigations Unit Detective Michael Borrecco, 34, said to the two men before pointing a loaded gun in their direction.
He’d just gotten off of work.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, Borrecco said he thought the store clerk inside seemed scared, and he didn’t want things to escalate, so he ordered the two men to leave, saying, “there’s too much bullshit going on in this city, it just pisses me off.”
Albuquerque Police Department officers were called to the scene at Osuna and Jefferson NE, around 10 p.m. Borrecco’s BCSO truck was towed to the evidence laboratory to be searched.
The complaint states that inside the truck, police found a Staccato model 2011 P 9mm handgun with one round in the chamber. The weapon was mounted with a flashlight and optic, and located on the front passenger seat. They also found a loaded extended magazine inserted into the handgun with 20 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and a spare Staccato magazine containing 17 rounds of 9 mm ammunition located in the center console.
Investigators say they found two Axon body recording device cameras and two empty 100ml bottles of New Amsterdam vodka.
In the back seat of the BCSO truck, officers found trash, including fast food bags and approximately 14 empty 100ml bottles of New Amsterdam Vodka bottles and three empty 200ml bottles of Smirnoff, according to the complaint.
Albuquerque Police Department officers reported smelling alcohol on Borrecco’s breath.
Borrecco surrendered Friday morning and was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center. The eight year BCSO detective is facing one charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and another charge of the negligent use of a firearm. It is unclear who his attorney will be.
He has been placed on administrative leave.
At a press conference Friday, Sheriff John Allen apologized to the community for Borrecco’s actions.
He said this off-duty behavior is not acceptable, and it’s unprecedented for two BCSO officers to be arrested for crimes his office tries so hard to fight.
“I will not stand here as a sheriff and allow our personnel to be a problem in what we’re trying to battle, they will be held accountable,” he said. “Speaking of being held accountable, that responsibility and extreme ownership is on me. I’m the leader of this agency, and we will find a solution to deal with all of the off duty issues that we are seeing, because that does not represent who we are.”
Earlier this year, BCSO Deputy Adrienne Seay was arrested at a DWI checkpoint. Charging documents allege Seay smelled of alcohol, didn’t make eye contact and admitted to police she had been drinking. After her arrest, Seay was placed on administrative leave.