ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque man who went to prison for an armed robbery and SWAT standoff got out earlier this year and it didn’t take long for him to start racking up charges once again. Phillip Garcia has a criminal history dating back to 1998 including robbery, burglary, arson, and drugs. His most recent conviction was for holding up the AutoZone on Isleta two years ago.
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When police tried to stop him, Garcia fled to a home which led to a SWAT standoff. Last year, Garcia was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. With time served and nine months credit for good time, Garcia was out less than a year later.
Now, he has already racked up charges in three different auto thefts and also faces new drug charges along with a charge for concealing his identity after he was implicated in a shoplifting. Last week, police said he was found with a gun and drugs on him. The district attorney’s office is pushing to put him back behind bars as all those cases move through the courts.