Hmmmm….True Refugee Crime Stories* continues with latest installment.
A Burundian refugee sans hands throws rocks through a window (presumably using only arm stubs), gets arrested and authorities learn he has stolen a neighbor’s identity. I didn’t make this story up!
From KOAT ABC7 Albuquerque (thanks to a reader):
An Albuquerque man is in custody after being accused of throwing a volleyball-sized rock through a fast food restaurant window.
Investigators said the man — who is without hands — shattered two windows at the restaurant.
As detectives investigate the case, the man’s former neighbors are saying that the man isn’t who he claims to be.
Koffi Mbairamadji said he was stunned when people started asking him if he had been to jail recently.
Mbairamadji said the man who broke the windows is actually known as Adjabo. He said Adjabo is from Burundi, a country in central Africa.
“He can’t even read, so how can someone who doesn’t know how to read can get my personal information?” Mbairamadji asked.
Mbairamadji said Adjabo came to Albuquerque two years ago as a political refugee. He said he doesn’t know how Adjabo lost his hands but that it’s likely they were cut off during a battle in his native country.
Of course another reason he could have lost his hands is by being punished for stealing—justice under Shariah law.
Looks like it’s Catholic Charities bringing Burundian diversity to New Mexico, here. No surprise there.
* Refugee crimes are archived here in our special “crimes” category.