Suspects in Las Cruces gang rape arrested three years later
Police charged four men suspected of raping a 27-year-old woman during a house party three years after the alleged rape.
Luis F. Orquiz, 25; Rigoberto Enriquez-Rodriguez, 26; Edgar O. Chaparro, 27; and Erik Daniel Lee, 28, are charged with one count each of criminal sexual penetration, a second-degree felony, and one count each of first-degree felony kidnapping.
Documents obtained by ABC-7 state the victim told detectives she was at a house party and was drinking when she fell asleep. She said when she woke up at around 5:30 the next morning, four men were playing beer pong.
She says they grabbed her, threw her on the couch and took turns sexually assaulting her. Documents state the men allegedly shoved a t-shirt in the victim’s mouth and cheered each other on.
LUIS ORQUIZ
Arrest warrants for the four men were issued out of Magistrate Court on Nov. 4, 2016.
Orquiz was arrested Nov. 7 in Ruidoso, N.M., while Lee was arrested the same day in Las Cruces.
Chaparro was arrested Nov. 8 in Las Cruces and Enriquez-Rodriguez was picked up Nov. 13 as he crossed the Lukeville Port of Entry in Arizona.
ABC-7 is working to obtain the mug shots for Enriquez-Rodriguez. All four men have since posted bond and have been released from custody.
Donna Richmond, who helps sexual assault victims, says what allegedly happened behind closed doors three years ago is all too common.
“This case is like many of our other cases where someone has been violated again and again,” said Richmond, with La Pinion Sexual Recovery Services.
While three years may sound like a long time for arrests to be made, officials say DNA evidence and witnesses play a key role.
“I’m sure in this case they had to strategically plan who they were going to interview first and how that was going to unfold, so we are pleased that just will be served,” Richmond said.
Las Cruces police told ABC-7 the department assigned a new detective to the case, after the original detective, Michael Garcia, was convicted in two different rape cases.
Detective Garcia was charged with a count of Criminal Sexual Penetration of a Minor and Criminal Sexual Contact of a Minor for allegedly raping a 17-year-old intern with the Las Cruces Police Department.
A federal judge handed down a sentence of nine years in prison. At the time, Garcia was a 15-year veteran of the police department.
The victim, Diana Guerrero, told ABC-7 she was only 13-years old when she began an internship at the Las Cruces Police department and dreamt of one day joining the force.
Garcia was also sentenced to 30 years in prison for a different rape case involving a young relative. He was convicted of three counts of Criminal Sexual Contact of a Minor. Ten years of the sentence were suspended.
The nine year federal sentence will run concurrently to the 20 year state sentence, meaning Garcia will serve the nine year federal sentence in Massachusetts then be transferred back to New Mexico to serve the remaining 11 year sentence from District Court.
