LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Today, District Attorney Mark D’Antonio announced that a Las Cruces man recently convicted of threatening a man with a knife has been sentenced to 9 ½ years in prison.
On Tuesday, Manuel Valdez, 32, was given the maximum sentence, 18 months behind bars, for threatening to stab a man at a gas station. The incident happened in December 2013 at the Pic Quik on Sonoma Ranch Blvd. in Las Cruces.
However, because the defendant was a habitual offender, Chief District Judge Fernando Macias sentenced the defendant to an additional eight years in prison.
D’Antonio said, “The habitual offender law should serve as a deterrent to repeat offenders but when it doesn’t, we will prosecute them to full extent of the law.”
Under New Mexico law, a defendant’s sentence may be enhanced by eight years in prison if he’s considered a habitual offender.
The defendant in this case had previously been convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance and battery upon a police officer. Those incidents took place between July 2003 and October 2010.
Information from Third Judicial District Attorney's office