2 Las Cruces men charged with carrying guns in a school zone

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Federal prosecutors say that two Las Cruces men are charged with gun possession in a school zone after they were arrested near an elementary school.

The night of September 6, 2025, Las Cruces Police officers found John Anthony Orta, 24, and Steven Mendoza, 21, walking near Hermosa Heights Elementary School with guns. Earlier that night, the officers had received reports of shots fire at Young Park. They got to the park and recovered several shell casings in the Young Park parking lot.

Orta was found with a handgun in his waistband, and Mendoza was found hiding a partially diassembled AR-15-style pistol in his pants. Officials say that both Orta and Mendoza were drunk at the time of the arrest. Officers at first charged them with a state charge: Negligent Use of a Deadly Weapon.

In an interview later, federal prosecutors say that Mendoza told officers he was at the park then walked to the school. Orta, meanwhile, denied involvement in the shooting at the park's parking lot. Ballistic analysis discovered neither gun was connected to the shell casings found at the park.

Federal prosecutors say that there are signs posted at Young Park designating it a Safe School Zone where guns are prohibited. The park is about 540 feet from Lynn Middle School, and the pair were arrested about 100 feet from Hermosa Heights Elementary School.

The Young Park parking lot was the scene of an unconnected shooting earlier this year.