by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Albuquerque Police officers formed a three-block barricade around Lead Avenue and Buena Vista Drive Wednesday afternoon looking for a man wanted on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Police officers and dogs searched residents' yards in the area for Nicholas Blume, 27, but police were unable to find him.
Police ended the search after an hour and a half.
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Detectives were searching for Blume because of felony warrants, and they spotted him walking near Yale Boulevard and Garfield Avenue at 2:50 p.m., said Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman Trish Hoffman.
Blume then ran from police, and they blocked off the area, Hoffman said.
Blume has a history of criminal activity, including convictions for stealing a vehicle in 2003, trafficking drugs in 2005, failure to comply with probation officers in 2005 and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, Hoffman said. Hoffman said she did not know when the aggravated battery occurred.
Detectives were searching around the University because Blume is known to stay with friends in the area, Hoffman said.
Blume might have been hiding in a friend's house, Hoffman said.
"There is a high possibility he is in the area," she said. "He has a lot of friends in this place."
It was not known if Blume was armed, Hoffman said.
No businesses were affected by the barrier, but residents in the area were not allowed to go to their homes until the search was concluded, said Tom Melvin, an Albuquerque Police officer.
Hoffman said Cuidando Los Ni§os, an Albuquerque day care center, was shut down during the search for safety reasons.
UNM student Zachary Gallegos had to wait about an hour before he was let back into the neighborhood where he had parked his vehicle. He said the barricade was an inconvenience, but it was worth the wait.
"They got to do what they got to do," he said.
Blume had not been found as of 8 p.m. Wednesday.
