Las Cruces Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information that helps locate the man suspected in a May 2013 beating death in Dona Ana County.
Joel Ponce, 36, also known by the moniker Joel Alvarez, has been charged with manslaughter in the death of 41-year-old Juan Perez who was found May 18, 2013, in Berino, N.M., suffering from severe head injuries.
Perez was transported to an El Paso hospital where he died a few days later.
Witnesses told Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office investigators that Ponce and Perez had been in a fight.
Ponce is Hispanic, 5-feet-7-inches tall and weighs approximately 280 pounds. He has brown eyes and brown hair, but may have shaved his head. Ponce has contacts in Dona Ana County, El Paso, and northern Mexico and could be in any of those locations.
Anyone suspected of harboring Ponce could also face criminal charges.
Anyone with information that can help police locate Joel Ponce is 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.
Information from: Las Cruces Police