Albuquerque grandmother speaks out about shooting intruder in her home
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Anissa Tinnin was enjoying the evening with her 4-year-old granddaughter when she came face to face with a criminal trying to get away from police. Her fast thinking got him out of her home but when he broke in a second time, she was ready with her gun and shot him.
Tinnin: “Get back. Get back. I have a gun. Get back. Get back.”
That was Tinnin on a 911 call after 32-year-old Joseph Rivera confronted her. Just ten minutes earlier, she was singing and dancing to the Taylor Swift movie with her granddaughter while down the street, chaos unfolded.
Police say Rivera was spotted in a stolen car last month around 9:30 p.m. near Candelaria and Rio Grande. Spike strips caused him to crash but he took off on foot down Candelaria and hopped a fence into Tinnin’s yard. The family’s Ring camera caught his every move and he can be seen walking into the home.
“I jumped over this couch and we met there by the front door…That’s when he grabbed me and was upset and said to give him my keys. He said he didn’t want to go to jail. He did threaten to hurt my granddaughter and me,” said Tinnin.
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She tried to calm him down, “As we were walking…I put my hands on him… to try to be calming… Tell me what your name is…Tell me where you are from.”
Rivera wanted her keys and as Tinnin looked for her keys, she dialed 911. She could be heard in the background trying everything to get him to leave. “I told him to not hurt us, that I would do whatever he wanted. I would give him keys, money, whatever it took,” said Tinnin.
Rivera finally grabbed a key fob and headed to her car.
Tinnin (crying on the phone): “This guy came into my house and tried to take my car. Please help me.”
It was a tough moment with her grandaughter who she told to stay in her bedroom.
Tinnin: “I need you to be really brave right now. I got to go. Stay right here in the bedroom.”
Girl: (crying)
Tinnin: “It’s okay baby.”
Girl: (crying)
Tinnin: “It’s okay. It’s okay.”
Tinnin grabbed her gun to check if Garcia had left but he hadn’t yet. Sirens could be hard as police closed in. Rivera could be heard banging on the door before kicking it in.
Tinnin: “Get back. get back. I have a gun. Get back. Get back. I will f******* shoot you.”
(Gunfire)
Dispatcher: “What did you do?”
Suspect: “Why did you shoot me?”
Tinnin: “Because you’re in my f****** house!”
Tinnin then told Garcia she would help him and held pressure on his gunshot wound.
Tinnin: “I will give you water but if you f****** hurt me, I’m going to shoot you again”
Tinnin then begged the dispatcher for help.
Tinnin (crying): “This is not happening… where are the police?”
Minutes later officers moved in dragging Rivera out. “I do believe we had a guardian angel here with us and I do firmly believe that God was watching over us,” said Tinnin.
Rivera now faces a long list of charges on top of a lengthy rap sheet. “I would like for him to be held to the fullest extent. I absolutely do not want the District Attorney’s Office giving him a plea deal. He belongs in jail,” said Tinnin.
Tinnin’s grandaughter is struggling from that night. Megan Tinnin Austin is her mother. “She’s scared of the dark and not like normal four-year-olds… when a four-year-old is asking if the doors are locked and the alarm is set,” said Austin.
Speaking on what happened, “I think that when you’re faced with a decision of protecting your family, you do what you have to do,” said Tinnin.
Rivera was back in court on Thursday where a judge finally ordered him to remain behind bars. Rivera had a warrant out for his arrest after police say in July he was found passed out in a stolen car. Even with five previous felony convictions, a judge released him days later and he failed to appear in court.
He was arrested again in September and released again. He didn’t appear in court in October yet when he was arrested, he was released again. He had been on the run since and added more burglary and car theft charges. Judge Joseph Motnaño ordered Rivera to stay behind bars.
