Doa Ana County man killed with crowbar

A man died after a crowbar thrown at him became lodged in the back of his head, deputies said.

Jose Lopez Perez, 33, got into an argument with 36-year-old Vernon Clark over Lopez’s girlfriend on Tuesday evening, investigators said, adding that Clark introduced her to Lopez.

Clark told Doa Ana County Sheriff’s deputies the argument escalated into a fight before he allegedly grabbed a prying bar from the back of Lopez’s truck and threw it at him.

When deputies arrived at the home on the 2100 block of Rocca Secca Road north of Las Cruces, they said they found Lopez lying face-down on the ground. According to the criminal complaint obtained by the ABC-7 I-Team, Lopez was unresponsive and “had a metal pry bar lodged several inches in the back of his head.”

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lopez’s girlfriend told detectives Lopez, Clark and Clark’s brother Julian Flores had been together all day, court documents state. Flores and Clark were staying in a mobile home on Lopez’s property.

Flores told investigators he was woken by yelling and stepped out. According to the court document, Flores said he asked Clark what had happened to which Clark replied, “He is unconscious.”

Lopez’s mother, who reportedly witnessed the fight, told investigators Flores was with Clark encouraging the fight but not physically involved.

The criminal complaint states that Clark told deputies he and Flores wanted meth and went into Lopez’s bedroom asking him for the drug. Before his alleged fight with Lopez broke out, Clark began arguing with Lopez’s girlfriend, whom he said accused him “of talking behind her back.”

Neighbors called 911 after hearing a woman screaming.

Deputies located Clark near his home on the 5200 block of Pueblo Trail, about two blocks away. He was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree murder. Clark was booked into the Doa Ana County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond.