Man with rifle arrested for stalking APD officer in Albuquerque

Albuquerque police arrested a New Mexico man who is accused of stalking an Albuquerque Police Department officer while armed with a rifle in a Westside neighborhood. The arrest came after investigators said the man was captured on video walking through the area with an “AR-style rifle” on multiple occasions.

Kenneth Bair is accused of walking around Ventana Ranch in military-style gear and threatening the family of an APD officer, according to investigators. Deputies said Bair wore all-black military-style clothing on some occasions and took videos of the neighborhood on his phone. Another time, Bair was in shorts but still visibly carrying the AR-style rifle and a sidearm on his hip.

The night Bair was arrested, he spoke with deputies.

“I’m pro police. I’m on your guy’s side. I don’t know what I did. I don’t know what’s going on,” Bair said.

Bair was compliant under arrest and told deputies what they would find at his home.

“You’re going to find my guns in my house. Because I’m, you know, pro,” Bair said.

“And they’re all registered to me, so,” Bair said.

Bair then asked deputies about his weapons.

“Are you going to take my guns?” Bair asked.

“Are they going to take the guns?” Bair asked.

A deputy responded that he did not know all the circumstances of the investigation.

“Like I said, I don’t know what the investigation is. I can tell you we can’t just take guns for no reason and hold them, but I don’t know all the circumstances surrounding the investigation,” the deputy said.

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office later filed an extreme risk firearm protection order to take away all six of Bair’s firearms, citing the investigation and claiming he has a bipolar diagnosis. Later this month, a judge is expected to rule on a request to remove Bair’s guns for one year.

Bair was indicted on two counts of aggravated stalking and one count of making a shooting threat, all fourth-degree felonies. He remains in custody while awaiting trial.