Las Cruces man suspected of pushing wife from vehicle

Police in Las Cruces arrested a man suspected of pushing his wife from a moving vehicle Saturday evening.

53-year-old Horacio Moreno, of the 2200 block of Avenida de Mesilla, is charged with one count of Aggravated Battery Causing Great Bodily Harm and a single count of Battery Against A Household Member.

Police said the alleged assault happened shortly before 11 pm on the 500 block of North Tornillo Street.

Officers arrived to find a 37-year-old woman unresponsive with visible injuries to her face and body. Paramedics rushed the woman to Mountainview Regional Medical Center for medical treatment.

Investigators learned the woman was with friends at a home on Tornillo Street when Moreno, her husband, was threatening her life via text messages.

Police said that sometime after 11 pm, Moreno arrived at the residence and his wife left with him in his Ford Explorer.

As Moreno drove away, the woman noticed her husband was armed with a handgun. She told police she opened the door to exit the vehicle as they approached the intersection of Tornillo and Mountain Avenue.

Investigators said that is when Moreno punched the woman’s face and pushed her out the door as he sped away.

Moreno was arrested a short distance away and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center. He posted bond.