A New Mexico grandma has been hailed as a hero for shooting a burglar who burst into her home and attacked her while she watched a Taylor Swift movie with her granddaughter.
Anissa Tinnin, 45, was elated that her granddaughter was spending the night at her Albuquerque home. She was planning to take the little girl to school the following morning.
The duo ate dinner, bathed and cuddled on the couch as they watched Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film.
‘We had our popcorn and M&M’s, dancing and singing along, when our lives were about to suddenly change,’ Tinnin wrote on Facebook as she recounted the evening of March 21.
But things took a terrifying and violent turn when a man Tinnin had never seen before barreled through the front door. The grandmother would later learn that he had hopped a fence on the property, his every move captured on a Ring camera.
Anissa Tinnin, 45, was spending the night with her four-year-old granddaughter when a stranger suddenly burst into her Albuquerque home
The man, 32-year-old Joseph Rivera, was fleeing police when he hopped a fence on Tinnin’s property and broke into her house
Rivera demanded the woman hand over the keys to her pricey Range Rover Sport and threatened to harm her granddaughter if she didn’t comply
‘I jumped over this couch and we met there by the front door,’ Tinnin told KRQE.
‘That’s when he grabbed me and was upset and said to give him my keys. He said he didn’t want to go to jail. He did threaten to hurt my granddaughter and me.’
Unbeknownst to her, the man, 32-year-old Joseph Rivera, was a convicted felon with a lengthy rap sheet. He was being chased by police just before bursting into Tinnin’s home and broke into it in a bid to evade detection.
Once inside Tinnin’s home, he demanded she hand over the keys to her Range Rover Sport.
As Tinnin frantically looked for her keys, she dialed 911. ‘I told him to not hurt us, that I would do whatever he wanted. I would give him keys, money, whatever it took,’ she explained.
Rivera finally grabbed a key fob and headed to the car, and Tinnin began to plead with the 911 operator.
‘This guy came into my house and tried to take my car. Please help me,’ she begged in a released recording of the call.
Rivera was charged with burglary, attempting to commit a felony and auto theft, and ordered to stay behind bars on Thursday
Tinnin opened fire when the man returned to the home. She rendered first aid and stayed with him until police arrived
‘I will give you water, but if you f****** hurt me, I’m going to shoot you again,’ Tinnin can be heard saying in a released 911 call
The 32-year-old has a lengthy rap sheet including five prior felony convictions
She instructed her granddaughter to stay in a bedroom as the little girl wailed, repeatedly assuring her, ‘It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.’
Tinnin then grabbed her gun. As sirens sounded in the distance, Rivera returned, this time kicking the door in.
‘Get back, get back. I have a gun. Get back. Get back. I will f******* shoot you,’ Tinnin shouted before opening fire.
‘Why did you shoot me?’ Rivera demanded.
‘Because you’re in my f****** house!’ the grandmother said.
She then came to the man’s aid, applying pressure to the wound and telling him she would help under one condition: ‘I will give you water, but if you f****** hurt me, I’m going to shoot you again.’
Police say Rivera was spotted in a stolen car around 9:30 pm. After hitting spike strips, he continued to drive before crashing the vehicle and running off.
Rivera was dragged out in handcuffs by officers and taken to a local hospital. At the time, he was on pretrial release for a July 2023 case in which he was found in a stolen car with fentanyl, cocaine and heroin, according to court records.
A judge ordered Rivera to remain behind bars during a court appearance on Thursday.
‘I would like for him to be held to the fullest extent. I absolutely do not want the District Attorney’s Office giving him a plea deal. He belongs in jail,’ Tinnin said.
Over a month later, her granddaughter continues to struggle with memories of that night. She has developed a fear of the dark and constantly asks her mother if the doors are locked and the alarm is set.
On Facebook, Tinnin blasted the city of Alburquerque for allowing offenders to run rampant.
‘This city is a mess,’ she wrote. ‘Criminals are ruining innocent people’s lives everyday. I’m sick of keeping quiet about the disaster this city’s leadership has created.’
Rivera faces charges of burglary, attempting to commit a felony and auto theft. These come on top of five previous felony convictions.