Former New Mexico Congressional District 1 Republican primary candidate Gary Smith was arrested this Friday after being video taped slashing the tires of at least four fellow Republicans.
Unsuccessful congressional candidate Gary Smith had an arrest warrant issued after a surveillance video showed him slashing the tires of Republican opponent Janice Arnold-Jones. The Santa Fe Reporter broke the story earlier Friday and Smith was taken into custody without incident shortly thereafter.
Arnold-Jones and her husband John Jones say they were feeling vulnerable after finding their vehicles’ tires punctured on back-to-back dates, and decided to set up a rooftop camera the week before Christmas.
“I had a hunch it was him,” Arnold-Jones tells SFR. “People tried to tell me it was the work of Democrats, but I knew that wasn’t the case. This isn’t the normal kind of political retribution you might expect. This is scary.”
The Reporter went on to note that Rhead Story, Smith’s campaign manager, also had his tires slashed.
Rhead Story, Smith’s campaign manager, told police he’s lost almost 40 tires since discovering the first set flattened in June.
Originally, he thought it was a random act and decided not to call police. But, after replacing several more sets of punctured tires, Rhead and his wife Wanda Story also decided to set up a portable camera.
Before the camera was operational, Wanda says she encountered Smith walking near their car outside at her Albuquerque apartment complex. It didn’t take her long to notice that Smith was carrying some sort of utility tool or ice pick. Scared for her life, Wanda dropped a laundry basket she’d been carrying and ran to safety inside her apartment.
Smith was removed from the Republican primary ballot because he did not have enough valid signatures and according to the Reporter, others that were involved in the court challenge to Smith’s petition signatures had their tires slashed as well.
You can see the surveillance video below followed by an additional one with background information – both from the Reporter.
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