LCPD: Suspect in Silver City Officer-involved shooting facing felony charges in Las Cruces

Police say the suspect involved in Thursday morning’s officer-involved shooting in Silver City is facing three felony charges in Las Cruces for allegedly restraining his mother with a phone’s power cord.

Police charged Michael Aguirre, 41, with two counts of false imprisonment and one count of unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. Police said Aguirre is also charged with misdemeanor counts of battery against a household member and interference with communications.

Officers were dispatched to a home on the 1500 block of Avenida de Mesilla, where Aguirre shares residency with his mother. The officers were told Aguirre was acting irrational Wednesday evening and told his mother he was going to Silver City to see his ex-wife. Police learned Aguirre had a court order forbidding him from entering Grant County and was wearing an ankle monitor.

Police said Aguirre cut off the ankle monitor and asked his mother for the keys to her Toyota 4-Runner. When the woman refused to hand over the keys, Aguirre allegedly ransacked the mobile home in an attempt to find keys. When the mother attempted to call 911, Aguirre allegedly broke the cell phone by throwing it against a wall.

Investigators believe Aguirre used the power cord for his ankle monitor to tie up his mother, police said.

Aguirre briefly left the home, but returned about 15 minutes later and untied his mother. About an hour later, Aguirre again tied up his mother and left in her Toyota 4-Runner, police said. The woman was able to free herself about 45 minutes later and called 911 from a neighbor’s home.

LCPD officers arriving on scene notified Silver City police Aguirre was possibly headed in that direction.

Authorities say a Silver City police officer shot and wounded Aguirre, who allegedly struck the officer’s police vehicle during a pursuit while driving the stolen SUV.

New Mexico State Police say Aguirre was taken into custody after the collision early Thursday morning and is hospitalized for treatment of a neck wound.

Officials with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office told ABC-7’s New Mexico Mobile Newsroom Aguirre worked with the county for 20 years.

In the early 1990s, Aguirre worked at the county’s detention center. Aguirre later became a deputy with the sheriff’s office. He retired in 2014, officials said.

The officer-involved shooting is being investigated by New Mexico State Police.

Las Cruces police investigators obtained a warrant for Aguirre’s arrest. The warrant, which carries a no-bond hold, will likely be served when he’s released from University Medical Center of El Paso.