Las Cruces Police arrested two young men suspected in an armed robbery and shot-fired call from early Thursday morning.
Anthony Juarez, 18, and Hector V. Calderon, 20, are charged with one count each of armed robbery while Juarez also faces one count of shooting at a house or dwelling.
Las Cruces Police learned that sometime after 4 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, three friends had just returned home and were sitting in a parked car on the 2000 block of Rentfrow Avenue.
As they sat in the vehicle a young man, believed to be Juarez, knocked on the driver’s side window and asked for a cigarette. The man walked away when he was turned down, but a few seconds later returned and was armed with a handgun.
The suspect ordered the driver out of the vehicle at gunpoint and demanded his wallet, cell phone and other personal property. He then ordered a female passenger out of the vehicle and proceeded to steal her purse and cell phone.
A second suspect, believed to be Calderon, then ordered the third friend out of the vehicle and began punching him.
As Juarez and Calderon walked away, Juarez is believed to have fired one round from the handgun that struck the victims’ car. No injuries were reported.
Police learned the whereabouts of Juarez and Calderon, and located them at Juarez’s home at 1865 Rentfrow Ave. Investigators discovered stolen property at the home, including property stolen from vehicles parked in the neighborhood.
Detectives are continuing their investigation and additional charges are possible. Juarez and Calderon were both booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center with cash-only bonds set at $50,000 each.