Gun brandished but no shots fired in Dec. 1 Walmart incident

A Moriarty man was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after brandishing a gun at the Walmart on Unser Boulevard Dec. 1.

No shots were fired in the incident and no one was run over, the Rio Rancho Police Department noted in the report, a 911 caller reported a person had been shot or struck by a vehicle.

Thomas Eaton, 31, of Moriarty, was arrested in the incident and was later charged with receiving stolen property as well.

At around 1 p.m., officers responded to multiple 911 calls, including the one reporting a shooting, from the store. However, they noted, the suspect did have a gun.

The caller said they were out doing holiday shopping and was heading into the store when a truck nearly hit them while in reverse. They said they tapped the back of the truck to let the driver know they were there, and the driver exited the vehicle and became argumentative. After an exchange of words, the driver, Eaton, reached into the truck and pulled out a gun, saying, “You don’t want to mess with me; I’m having a bad day.”

The victim instructed their family to call 911, and as they backed away with raised hands, Eaton got in his truck and drove away. Surveillance video and witnesses confirmed the victim’s account.

Officers were able to identify Eaton by running the license plate number.

Eaton was found at an apartment complex his employer runs and began to question him. He asked for a lawyer.

In a search of the truck, officers found various handgun accessories but not the gun, so they then obtained a search warrant for Eaton’s apartment. There, they found a shotgun, a Glock, an auto-weapon silencer and a short–barreled AR-15. The Glock came back as stolen out of Albuquerque, so Eaton was also charged with receiving stolen property.

If convicted, Eaton, would face a maximum of 18 months and/or a fine of $5,000 for the assault charge and an additional year for the stolen property charge.