Man Causes SWAT Standoff After Domestic Violence Incident, 1-Week-Old Baby Placed in Danger During Incident

Albuquerque –

24-year-old Bradley Orelus is not off to a great start entering fatherhood after he beat his spouse, prevented the spouse and baby to leave, and then causing an hours long SWAT standoff with the Albuquerque Police Department.

On June 12th, 2026, the Albuquerque Police Department was dispatched to the 1100 block of Madiera Dr. SE in regards to a domestic dispute involving a male and female with a baby involved. According to the criminal complaint, officers arrived on scene and spoke with the victim who stated Orelus texted her saying he was going to leave the baby in the apartment in order to go get some marijuana. The mother did not approve of the idea. The mother of the baby and a friend went to the apartment and tried to gain entry, but Orelus was not allowing them to enter. The victim was able to gain access to the apartment and retrieved the baby.

The complaint goes on to say that during the retrieval of the baby, a fight broke out between the victim and Orelus. The victim was holding the baby when Orelus allegedly struck her in the forehead. The APD officer was able to speak with the victim eventually and get a witness statement about what happened and confirmed the physical injuries to the victim. The officer then left the victim alone while he went to the leasing office to find out where Orelus lived. During this time, the victim returned to her apartment with the baby where Orelus hanging out.

The complaint goes on to state that officers approached the apartment door to attempt to check on the victim and the baby. Thats when Orelus intervened and said the police needed a warrant if they wanted to check on the welfare of the baby and the residence. A short time later, the officer briefed a sergeant and went back to the apartment to find the victim outside. The baby was still inside with Orelus. Other officers were able to get the baby out of the apartment by speaking with Orelus.

A SWAT call was initiated and Orelus said he wanted officers to shoot him. During this incident, Orelus would come out on the patio and flip off officers. Then he would go back inside. This lasted for well over 3 hours until he was finally taken into custody.

Orelus complained of a a traumatic injury and was transported to a local hospital. It was not clear what the injury was but it was probably a severe case of incarceritis and is now set on not being a great father.

Orelus was charged with child abuse, breaking and entering, false imprisonment, battery, criminal damage to property, and resisting and evading an officer.

In late 2025, Orelus and the victim were in a domestic dispute where he also hit the victim and damaged a phone. In that case as is the situation with numerous domestic violence cases the domestic violence charges were dropped due to victim not wanting to proceed with any charges.

*EDITOR NOTE: The criminal complaint inconsistently describes the relationship between Orelus and the victim, referring to her as his spouse in one section and as the victim’s boyfriend in another. The exact nature of their relationship was not immediately clear.