Suspect back in jail hours later after car-theft charge

A few hours after an Albuquerque woman initially jailed on a litany of charges was released from the Quay County Detention Center, she was accused of stealing a car from one of Tucumcari’s truck stops.

Kayln Worker, 36, was jailed again Thursday afternoon at the county lockup on a complaint that included two counts of felony tempering with evidence, one count of unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and one count of resisting, evading and obstructing an officer.

The tampering and vehicle theft charges each are fourth-degree felonies that can lead up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Worker earlier had been detained on a charges of felony larceny, felony possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), identity theft, possession of burglary tools, conspiracy to commit larceny, conspiracy to commit identity theft, two counts of criminal trespass on provide lands and criminal damage to property (under $1,000) after several incidents in Quay County from June 9 to June 16.

Magistrate Judge Noreen Hendrickson on Wednesday had set release conditions for Worker that included $1,000 bond. Jail records indicate she was released shortly after noon Thursday.

According to a criminal complaint, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched Thursday afternoon to Love’s Travel Center in Tucumcari to investigate the theft of a Honda Accord. The car’s owner said she saw a woman take it and drive west on Interstate 40.

About that time, dispatchers informed deputies of reports of what appeared to be a crashed vehicle off the side of the highway west of Tucumcari.

A witness told deputies a woman tried to hide the vehicle in a ditch and left the car to hide in a tunnel under the interstate. A deputy saw shoe tracks in the mud leading away from the car into the tunnel.

In the middle of the tunnel, a deputy found a pair of shoes as if they had been stuck in the mud, with footprints leading south.

Deputies found a hoodie in a barbed-wire fence and continued to follow the tracks. They found a blue shirt in a scrub tree, then saw Worker near it.

The deputy reported in his complaint that Worker apologized to him and said, “I f—ed up.”

Worker was handcuffed and led back to the deputy’s squad car. According to the complaint, she said she “messed up big time” and admitted to throwing a cellphone found inside the car out of the window to keep police from tracking her.

According to booking records, Worker was back in jail about 4 1/2 hours after her release.

Hendrickson on Friday ordered Worker held without bond for failing to comply with the conditions of her release.

Erin Sumrall Van Soelen of Clovis was listed as Worker’s attorney in the cases.