Police arrested a pair of Las Cruces men suspected of stealing a woman’s purse as she walked along El Paseo Road Monday afternoon.
Gabriel Moya, 20, and George Baca, 19, are charged with one count each of robbery and conspiracy.
At around 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16, Las Cruces Police were dispatched to the report of a robbery that occurred along El Paseo Road near the Video 4 cinema. Officers made contact with a 44-year-old woman who stated that a young man knocked her to the ground, stole her purse and boarded a sport utility vehicle.
A witness to the incident was able to provide police with the SUV’s license plate number.
Las Cruces Police officers located a brown Chevrolet Tahoe a short distance away and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. The Tahoe’s driver was identified as Baca while Moya was his passenger.
Investigators learned that the 44-year-old woman was walking along El Paseo Road, near the Video 4 cinema, when Moya grabbed her purse and knocked her to the ground. After taking the woman’s purse, Moya got into the SUV and the two suspects drove off heading south.
Police recovered the woman’s purse inside the Chevy Tahoe.
Moya and Baca were booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center. Moya is being held without bond while Baca’s bond was set at $5,000.
Information from Las Cruces Police