Police arrested a La Mesa woman suspected of stealing a car and leading its owner on a short pursuit before she was stopped by an officer.
Monica P. Quintana, 23, of the 100 block of Twilight Road in La Mesa, is charged with a fourth-degree felony count of unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and a misdemeanor count of aggravated driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs.
Las Cruces Police detectives learned that at approximately 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, a family returned to their home on the 300 block of Wall Avenue, in south Las Cruces, and took their 6-month-old child inside before starting dinner. But they left keys to their 2004 Nissan Sentra in the ignition and the vehicle doors unlocked.
A few minutes later the couple noticed that their Sentra was missing and observed it traveling east, and then west, on Wall Avenue. The owner of the Sentra got into another vehicle and began following his Sentra as the female driver, later identified as Quintana, drove to south Main Street.
The owner simultaneously called 911 and provided information that helped direct police to the stolen car. An LCPD officer conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle in a parking lot near the intersection of Espina Street and University Avenue.
Quintana emerged from the vehicle and immediately displayed signs of intoxication.
Quintana was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where she is initially being held without bond.
Information from Las Cruces Police