ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A husband and wife, driving a pair of golf carts through an Albuquerque arroyo, raise red flags and the Albuquerque Police Department shows up to investigate.
As their lapel video showed, the couple had trouble keeping their story straight, and they both wound up behind bars. It began when APD officers found the couple, driving a pair of golf carts along an arroyo near Montgomery and San Mateo.
Video from March 15 showed APD responding to find David Rankin and his wife, Natalie Rankin. When they asked David how he got the carts, he said he is a mechanic and is fixing them. He said they belong to his boss and was taking them out to get gas.
When officers questioned Natalie, she also insisted the carts were given to them for repairs, but the officers didn’t buy it. In the video, one officer told Natalie that he thinks she’s not telling the truth and said, “Natalie Rankin, I think you’re a liar.”
According to the criminal complaint, the golf carts had been reported stolen from Hope Christian School, costing a total of more than $20,000. David continued to insist he got the carts from an apartment maintenance worker, and that he was taking them to get gas. He can then be heard telling officers that he didn’t know the golf carts were stolen.
But that didn’t match the story they heard from Natalie, who said they were taking the carts to their camp. Officers decided to arrest both on the scene and make a discovery on Natalie’s key ring, a handcuff key.
David and Natalie Rankin are facing felony charges including having stolen property. They were both released pending trial, but right now there are warrants out for their arrests after they missed court dates.