Las Cruces Police arrested a man suspected of committing two armed robberies within the past couple of months, one of which resulted in the theft of the victim’s vehicle this past Tuesday morning.
Juan Manuel Garcia, 23, was arrested Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 9, and is charged with two counts of armed robbery and one count of unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.
On Oct. 9 Las Cruces Police detectives learned of Garcia’s possible involvement in Tuesday’s armed robbery outside the Walmart store on Rinconada Boulevard. Officers located Garcia at his residence along with the 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse that was stolen the day before.
After extensive interviews with Garcia and others, detectives determined there was sufficient evidence to charge him with the Oct. 8 armed robbery outside the Rinconada Walmart and the Aug. 12 armed robbery at the Pic Quik store at 1250 N. Valley Dr.
The Pic Quik armed robbery occurred at around 9:30 p.m. Aug. 12 while the armed robbery outside the Rinconada Walmart was committed shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8. Garcia is suspected of displaying a weapon in both robberies and stealing the victim’s Mitsubishi Eclipse following Tuesday morning’s incident. The vehicle was parked in the Walmart parking lot.
No injuries were reported in either case.
Garcia was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center with a cash-only bond set at $50,000.