Police arrest 4 in connection to shooting death of Las Cruces man

Las Cruces police arrested four individuals suspected in the deadly shooting of 29-year-old Raymond Hernandez.

Alexis Hernandez, 25; Destiny Lara, 24; Gabriel Ortiz, 32; and 18-year-old Noel Salazar have each been charged with a first-degree felony count of Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, a second-degree felony count of Tampering with Evidence, and a third-degree felony count of Shooting at or from a Motor Vehicle.

Police arrived at the scene of the killing after 10:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the department. Officers were dispatched to Martinez and Bowman Streets after receiving a report of shots fired in the area of the former 10 Pin Alley. Upon arrival, police say they found the body of the wounded 29-year-old man.

“He was taken to a local hospital and that’s where he died,” Trujillo said. Police located several spent shell casings in the area where Raymond Hernandez was located.

Investigators believe suspect Alexis Hernandez and the victim were in a relationship and an ongoing dispute. “The dispute somehow escalated prior to shots being fired Sunday evening,” police said in a news release.

A witness told police that a white Kia Optima was seen leaving the scene of the shooting. Police located the vehicle at a residence on the 2600 block of Dr. King Way. Alexis Hernandez, Ortiz and Salazar were taken into custody at that residence. Police located Lara on Monday at another address in Las Cruces. Investigators executed a search warrant Monday on the home on Dr. King Way and located a handgun believed to be used in the shooting.

All four suspects will be booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where they will be held, initially, without bond. Police did not release the arrest photos.

Relatives of the victim told ABC-7 the victim was a loving husband and friend. “I don’t want to accept that he’s gone, because he didn’t deserve it,” said Stephanie Garay, who identified herself as the victim’s sister. “It’s not fair.”

Multiple family members told ABC-7 Raymond Hernandez left behind a seven-year-old daughter. “His baby girl, she never got to see him again, talk to him again,” Garay said. “Now, she doesn’t have her dad.”