Alleged LC Cop Impersonator, Rapist Indicted On Five Charges
LAS CRUCES, NM – The man accused of impersonating a cop and raping a woman was indicted on five charges on Thursday.
22-year-old Joshua Ray Garcia, of 905 Espanola St. in Las Cruces, faces charges of first degree kidnapping, conspiracy to committ kidnaping, second degree criminal sexual penetration, aggravated robbery and impersonating a peace officer.
Garcia was arrested April 10, 2007, and is currently being held in the Dona Ana County Detention Center. Blood samples taken from Garcia matched his DNA to a sample collected as evidence in a criminal assault case on March 9, 2006.
According to investigators, Garcia is suspected of being the man who allegedly impersonated a police officer and assaulted a woman. The victim told detectives she was driving home from a nightclub when she was stopped by a vehicle with flashing lights on Evelyn street. The man approached the car and asked to see her driver’s license. He then struck the woman on the side of the head and physically assaulted her.
DNA samples taken from Garcia were sent to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety’s crime laboratory for analysis. It was determined by a forensic scientist that Garcia’s DNA profile matches evidence from the March 2006 crime scene, officials say.
The results marked the second time Garcia’s DNA linked him to a crime. Police say his April 10 arrest was the result of his DNA matching samples collected as evidence in the 2005 rape of a 19-year-old woman. The victim told investigators a man forced his way into her home in the early morning hours of November 12, 2005 and sexually assaulted her.
If convicted, Garcia faces up to 40 years in prison, police say.
