Public Safety

The Las Cruces Police Department graduated six cadets from its 54th Academy on Friday, Dec. 20. The six cadets who graduated are Vincent Montoya, Viridiana Porras, Juan Prieto, Alan Ramirez, Eric Reynolds and Jannette Soto. Montoya will work for the New Mexico State University Police Department while the remaining five…

City Hall and most other City of Las Cruces offices will be closed Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024; Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024; and Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, for the Christmas, Winter and New Year’s Day Holidays. Emergency services such as fire and police will not be affected. Schedule for Wednesday, December…

The Las Cruces Police Department will graduate six cadets from its 54th Academy on Friday, Dec. 20. The graduation ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Council Chambers at Las Cruces City Hall, 700 N. Main St. Attendance for the graduation ceremony is limited to…

Las Cruces police are reminding drivers to the dangers of automobile warm-up thefts. Vehicle warm-up thefts can happen when, during cold weather months, an automobile is started and left unattended to warm the cabin or defrost the windshield. While many newer-model vehicles have remote-start capabilities, that option has its own…

Las Cruces police arrested the man suspected of Friday’s crash into a motel that injured a man and caused the death of a 55-year-old woman. About 11:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, 22-year-old Alan Leyva-Vasquez reversed a Chevrolet Suburban into a room at the Imperial Sky Motel at 1865 W….

A vehicle crash Friday morning into the Imperial Sky Motel on west Picacho Ave has resulted in the death of one person. At about 11:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 6, Las Cruces police and fire were dispatched to the crash at 1865 W Picacho Ave. Investigators learned a Chevrolet Suburban was…

A fire damaged a mobile home and resulted in the death of a cat on Sunday afternoon. Just after 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 1, Las Cruces firefighters were dispatched to a structure fire on the 3600 block of Spitz Street. Crews arrived to find flames and heavy smoke emitting from…

More residential fires are reported during the holidays than at any other time during the year, so the Las Cruces Fire Department is encouraging residents to follow these simple tips that can greatly increase their chances of having a safe holiday season. If you purchase a cut Christmas tree, select…

Las Cruces firefighters extinguished to a fire on the 3900 block of Crystal Place Tuesday afternoon. About 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, Las Cruces firefighters responded to the report of a residential structure fire on Crystal Place. First-arriving crews found fire on the back porch that had extended into…

Law enforcement agencies throughout the country see an increase in the number of packages stolen during the holiday season. That’s because more packages are being delivered this time of year and some deliveries are made past sunset when the cover of darkness can conceal a porch pirate, the term for…

Fire departments throughout the country respond to more structure fires during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays than any other time of year, and cooking accidents are often the source of those seasonal fires. The Las Cruces Fire Department reminds holiday chefs to take extra precautions when preparing their meal, and…

The City of Las Cruces has agreed to terms in a civil lawsuit brought by the Estate of Teresa Gomez and is in the final stages of financing the $20 million settlement. Teresa Gomez, 45, was shot and killed by Felipe Hernandez, a former Las Cruces police officer, after an…

Operation Not in Vain, a three-month crime reduction project in memory of fallen Las Cruces Police Department Officer Jonah Hernandez, generated 127 felony arrests, 114 misdemeanor arrests, 89 criminal citations and more than 1,200 traffic citations during its three-months operation. “The success of this operation underscores the importance of collaboration…

In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, most City of Las Cruces offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, and Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. However, all emergency services, including police and fire will operate as usual. A Fielder Memorial Safe Haven will be closed Thanksgiving Day and Friday, November 29….

On Monday, November 11, 2024, at about 10:30 p.m. Las Cruces Police Department officers responded to the 1300 block of S Espina regarding a man armed with a gun yelling outside of an apartment complex. On arrival, an LCPD police officer encountered an armed man. The incident resulted in an…