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Police go after robber, not dealer

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Albuquerque police who came to the aid of a drug dealer as she was being robbed eventually tracked down and charged the robber, but have so far let the dealer go free.

According to police statements in court documents, the dealer told police she planned to sell a "one-and-one," or one bit of crack cocaine and one bit of heroin, to a man she knew as Ernest.

But when they met in a vehicle parked near Thaxton Avenue and Arno Street Southeast - near an Albuquerque police officer conducting surveillance - the dealer was was robbed at gunpoint, according to a Metro Court criminal complaint.

The nearby officer saw it and came to her aid, the complaint says. She told police the man took $80 and some of the drugs she was trying to sell.

She also told police she wants to pursue charges against him.

Using her cell phone records, police identified the man as Ernest Phillip Barela, 48. He was tracked down and arrested Wednesday and charged with armed robbery.

No court records could be found available indicating the dealer was charged with any drug-related crime.

While police found drugs in the car, the car was not hers and she told police she didn't know the drugs were there, the complaint says.