Las Cruces Crime Stoppers is offering a $2,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the murder of a 62-year-old man whose body was found Friday evening along an irrigation canal near west Amador Avenue. James David Vaughn, who is believed to be a transient but has lived in Las Cruces for a couple of years, was found deceased and covered with a blanket along the canal that runs perpendicular to Amador Avenue just east of Valley Drive. A pedestrian walking in the vicinity discovered the body shortly before 6 p.m. Friday, July 27, and notified police.
Las Cruces Police detectives positively identified the body as Vaughn’s over the weekend and are investigating his death as a homicide. Vaughn had previously lived in Tucson, Arizona.
Detectives are hoping to speak with two other transients, a man and woman, who are believed to have known Vaughn and may have spent some time with him in Las Cruces. The man is known by the moniker “Chaos” and is described as white, 20 to 30 years old with dark hair in a Mohawk style. The woman, known on the streets as “Cyclone,” is white, believed to be 30 to 40 years old and has dirty blond hair. The woman may be wearing military-style clothes, boots and a hat.
If you have any information on the whereabouts of “Chaos” or “Cyclone,” or have any information as to who may have wanted to harm James David Vaughn, you are asked to call Las Cruces Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or send a tip via text message to CRIMES (274637), keyword LCTIPS.
The Crime Stoppers number and text messaging services are operational 24 hours a day and you do not have to give your name to collect a reward.