Citroënvie member Richard Barrett in New Mexico sent along this clipping yesterday from the The Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper about guns that were stolen from Jeffrey Epstein’s New Mexico ranch in 2018.
What caught his eye was the last paragraph of the article where it mentions that there was another burglary there in 2020 where “the radiator of an antique French Citroën car that had been converted into a mirror with glass shelving” was stolen.
That statement piqued our curiosity as well, and we did some digging… An earlier issue of the The Santa Fe New Mexican from June 16, 2020 stared that an Artesia couple was behind bars accused of burglarizing Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch. Melanie Villegas, 25, and her husband Daryl Carson, 31, faced one charge each of nonresidential burglary, possession of burglary tools, criminal damage to property and larceny after Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies said they went onto the property at 49 Zorro Ranch Road.
According to the police report, the couple broke into a storage container and stole the radiator (presumably they meant grill) of a French antique Citroën car that was converted into a mirror with glass shelving. The mirror was worth about $500.
Property security guard Amber Chavez was the first to spot Villegas and Carson when she noticed a black Dodge that didn’t belong on the property on Monday June 15. At first the couple refused to stop then claimed they went to see the ranch but then got lost.
According to the police statement, when Chavez attempted to contact Carson, he tried to drive away, but she told him, “Don’t do that, I have a gun and the police are on their way.” In the truck bed, Chavez said she saw an antique mirror that belonged to the estate. Another security guard, Cynthia Cano, said she observed a cut fence on the southwest corner of the property with tire tracks appearing to match those of Villegas and Carson’s truck.
When questioned by deputies the couple denied the theft. They also denied having any weapons in their vehicle. However a deputy found two firearms, as well as a large set of bolt cutters and a small crowbar inside the truck and that’s when Carson admitted to the burglary. Villegas said they decided to stop at the property because they recently watched a documentary about the ranch.
In May 2020, Netflix released a four-part documentary titled Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, which included interviews with victims of the convicted sex offender, who died by apparent suicide on August 10, 2019 while in jail in New York.
On Tuesday June 15, 2020, Santa Fe County Magistrate George Anaya Jr. released Villegas and Carson on $2,500 unsecured appearance bonds. Each had a docket call scheduled July 8 in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court. There’s no record that Melanie Villegas or Daryl Carson served jail time for the 2020 Zorro Ranch incident.
Despite their fascination with the Citroën grill, there no indication we can find that Villegas or Carson owned a Citroën and there are no records we have we have been able to find that Epstein ever owned a Citroën automobile.