Las Cruces Man Accused Of Raping, Threatening Woman

Police said what started as a night of fun between a man and a woman ended with a violent attack and the woman fighting for her life.

Police said 26-year-old Bruno Rodriguez was drinking with the woman before the two went back to his mobile home on Holly Drive.

Once inside, police said Rodriguez locked the door and forcefully took off the woman’s clothes and sexually assaulted her before retrieving a small handgun. Police said he threatened to shoot her if she said anything.

Rodriguez was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of false imprisonment, criminal sexual penetration and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Police said a friend of the woman’s came banging on the door of Rodriguez’s home, and in that brief interruption, the woman was able to get away and call police.

Most neighbors in the area did not want to comment, but one did say Rodriguez is known as a troublemaker.

Rodriguez is being held at the Dona Ana County Detention Center, with bond set at $20,000.