Most people who know John Abraham — the man police believe is the "polite robber" — call him Fido.

Gregory Pleshaw, a freelance writer who's known Abraham for 20 years, said Thursday that he wasn't sure if the nickname hearkened back to the punk-rock-influenced 1980s, when Abraham wore a dog collar and a spikey mohawk, and hung out on the Plaza. Nonetheless, "for years he introduced himself as Fido," Pleshaw said.

Miguel Castillo, owner of Santa Fe Audio Visual, said Abraham began working for him as a sound engineer last year, though he's known him for about 16 years. He said Abraham last worked for him about 10 days ago, but suddenly stopped coming to work after that.

"He seemed troubled," Castillo said. "He just has seemed very heavy-hearted lately, and I didn't know what it was."

He said Abraham grew up in Santa Fe, and his father used to own a shop in the La Fonda complex downtown. His mother — whom he's taken care of for a long time — and an older brother still live in town, Castillo said. Abraham also is a well-known DJ around town — he specialized in dance hall and reggae music — and opened for George Clinton as "DJ Fido" at the Santa Fe Muzik Fest last summer, he said.

"When we heard about this yesterday, everybody was so shocked," Castillo said. "People were crying. Literally, everybody loves him. ... He has a heart of gold. It was so shocking and saddening and unexpected. It just like came out of nowhere."

Pleshaw said that when he heard Abraham was arrested Wednesday after allegedly robbing the owner of a downtown bath and body store at knifepoint, "I thought something really tragic had happened."

"When I first realized it was him, I thought, 'He must have fallen on really hard times because crime just never seemed to be his thing,' " Pleshaw said. "He was never violent. His whole thing was reggae and dance hall — peace music."

Castillo was equally bowled over by the criminal allegations against Abraham. "It just really breaks my heart," he said. "Nothing would have led me to think that he had 1` ounce in his body that was capable of doing that."

Castillo said Abraham recently came to his home and put bunk beds together for his 9-year-old and 12-year-old daughters. "I haven't had the heart to tell my girls," he said, "because they love that guy."

Abraham, who remains in the Santa Fe County jail, declined a reporter's request for an interview Thursday.

Police arrested Abraham late Wednesday morning after finding him sweating and out of breath on a city bus about to leave downtown. The owner of Spabox, 211 Galisteo St., identified him as the person who robbed her at knifepoint. A city worker followed him to a spot near the Sheridan Transit Center after the woman who was robbed ran after Abraham and pointed him out on the street.

Police suspect Abraham is the same man who has used a knife to rob women working alone at five other downtown businesses and one off Rodeo Road since Jan. 29. One of the victims in another of the robberies positively identified Abraham as the man who robbed her, police have said.

Despite wielding the knife, the man has been known as the polite robber because he is cordial and often apologizes to victims before robbing them.

Both Castillo and Pleshaw described Abraham as a polite person. "Fido was always polite," Pleshaw said. "He was just a really polite kid in a group full of weirdos."

"The 'polite robber' was a good name for him," said Castillo. "He is just literally a really sweet guy. (But) it was really wrong what he did and we all know it. Thank goodness nobody got hurt."

Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Benjie Montaño said Thursday that police were already looking for Abraham before his arrest Wednesday — not because they thought he was the polite robber, but because he was suspected of stealing and cashing about $10,000 worth of his mother's checks. Detectives continue to investigate Abraham's motives for the robbery spree but currently suspect drugs might have played a role, Montaño said.

"We're looking into the fact that he was a heroin addict," he said.

Abraham, who turns 40 at the end of the month, was arraigned Thursday in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court on charges of robbery and tampering with evidence. He was ordered held in lieu of a $100,000 cash or property bond.

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or :jauslander@sfnewmexican.com, or Phaedra Haywood at 986-3068 or phaywood@sfnewmexican.com.