‘There’s not much for people to do’: UTV rider defends group rides in Doña Ana Mountains

DOÑA ANA, New Mexico -- A passionate and frequent UTV rider tells ABC-7 his group picks up trash, stays on trail and respects the Doña Ana Mountains.

"There's always one bad apple," said Randall Limon, who frequently organizes the rides. "People come in and try to make us look like the bad people, but there are a lot more people out there. Not just us side-by-side riders."

On Monday, a resident told ABC-7 that the off-road drivers are loud, leave their trash and disrupt the neighborhood.

"It starts every Friday afternoon and it doesn't even slow down until Monday morning," said the man, who lives south of the Doña Ana Mountains. "There's hundreds of them."

"I certainly live with their complaints as well," admitted Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart on Monday, who also lives just south of the mountains. "At night, my house lights up with lights from out there."

Limon acknowledged that there were "quite a bit" of people in the mountains on Saturday, but he said that's because the fourth annual "River Run" was canceled.

"Right now, especially with the Covid going on, there's not much for people to do," Limon explained. "There's not a lot of things to do, so everybody's out there and trying to explore and get out of the house."

The angry resident told ABC-7 that the UTV riders continue to trespass on the privately owned Eclipse Road, which intersects with La Reina Road.

"It's hard to know which roads are private and which roads aren't private," Limon said. "Not once did I see that sign. There's no fencing. It's not a paved road."

Before the pandemic, Limon told ABC-7 his group frequently organized charity rides that helped raise thousands of dollars for the community.