Police are asking for the public’s help in locating a man suspected of beating a 61-year-old man, dumping the victim on the East Mesa and stealing his vehicle sometime Wednesday evening.
At around 11 p.m. Wednesday, July 1, police were dispatched to the 5300 block of Sunny Acres Drive on the city’s East Mesa where the victim was falling in and out of consciousness. He was subsequently flown to University Medical Center of El Paso with what appeared to be blunt force trauma to his head. The victim was in critical condition and his injuries could possibly be life-threatening.
Las Cruces Police detectives learned that the victim had been dropped off just inside city limits on Peach Tree Hills and his vehicle, a 2002 Dodge Neon, had been stolen. The victim somehow made his way to a residence on Sunny Acres Drive where he sought help.
The suspect is believed to be Abel Montes, 37, who resides in Las Cruces or Vado, N.M. Montes may still be driving the victim’s vehicle and in the company of his girlfriend, a woman identified only as “Martina,” who may be in her early 40s. The two were last known to be traveling south toward El Paso or possibly Mexico.
Montes and the woman may still be in the victim’s white 2002 Dodge Neon with New Mexico license plate JAD384. Montes is Hispanic and described as 6-feet-2-inches tall and weighs approximately 150 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Montes or the victim’s 2002 Dodge Neon is asked to call 911 immediately.