Las Cruces police say burglar might have lit house on fire

Las Cruces police say a burglar might have lit a house on fire Sunday afternoon before leaving the scene.

“Firefighters put out the fire and then police officers went in and cleared the area,” said Dan Trujillo, a spokesman for the department. “They found that there was nobody in the house. Whoever went in there had already exited the house.”

The home is on Boston Drive, south of Missouri Street in central Las Cruces. Neighbors say the area is normally very quiet.

“It’s always been very comfortable and very secure,” said Bob Aylett, who has lived in the neighborhood for sixty years.

Neighbors say Boston Drive was crawling with law enforcement activity on Sunday afternoon.

“I went in the house and locked all my doors and made sure that my house was going to stay secure,” Aylett said.

“For something like that big to happen over just the weekend was really, really shocking,” said Marco Anchieta. “If it escalated anymore, I think it could have been a lot worse.”