LCPD: Man deliberately crashed mom’s borrowed car

Police arrested a Las Cruces man suspected of deliberately crashing the car his mother is borrowing from a man he believes doesn’t exist.

Joshua Ray Tellez-Morales, 28, allegedly began arguing with his mother at about 1:00 am Thursday February, 15 and grabbed the keys to a 2015 Nissan Altima and rammed the vehicle into a chain link fence, causing more than $1,000 of damage.

Investigators said Tellez-Morales, of the 1800 block of Bellemah Drive, began arguing with his mother the previous night because he does not approve of her boyfriend, who Tellez-Morales believes is fictitious.

The argument allegedly escalated when Tellez-Mendez learned his mother was borrowing the Altima from a friend of her boyfriend.

Tellez-Morales allegedly stopped and got out of the car when he saw that his mother had fallen to the ground. She was not seriously injured and Tellez-Morales fled the area on foot, according to police.

Tellez-Morales was charged with a fourth-degree felony count of criminal damage to property and a misdemeanor count of battery against household member. He was booked into Doña Ana County Detention Center where he’s initially being held without bond.