APD: Owner of ABQ realty company pointed gun at tenant
Jul. 22—ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The owner of a local realty company is accused of pointing a gun at a tenant's chest Wednesday when he came into the office demanding his air conditioner be fixed after being broken for weeks.
Karie Taylor, 39, is behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Elevated Management Group, the company owned by Taylor, did not respond to a request for comment.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court:
Albuquerque police responded around noon to the realty company's office, near Rio Grande and Central, after a tenant reported being threatened with a gun by the owner.
The man told police his air conditioner had been broken for two weeks and he felt Elevated Management Group was not "working with him to resolve the problem."
He said on Monday a company came to repair the air conditioner but found the motor was broken and told the tenant they would refer to the realty office to fix it.
The man told police he went to the Elevated Management Group office to "see about getting answers." He said the owner, Taylor, greeted him and, when he began asking questions, she asked if he had an appointment.
The man told police he said he hadn't made an appointment and Taylor then told him he would "have to leave and leave now." The two "exchanged words" and the tenant refused to leave, telling Taylor he would "have to be physically removed from here."
The man told police Taylor then pulled a gun out, cocked it, pointed it at his chest and said "now get out." He said he was afraid of getting shot and left the office to call police.
According to the Elevated Management Group website, Taylor founded that company along with Rhino Realty Property Management and Venture Realty Group.
The website calls Taylor an "embodiment of commitment, excellence and entrepreneurial spirit" who "loves to stand by her clients."
