Suspect in high-speed chase facing a slew of charges, including aggravated robbery and assault

The suspect who allegedly shot at a couple, assaulted a woman and led deputies on a high-speed chase is facing a slew of charges, ABC-7’s New Mexico Mobile Newsroom has learned.

Eduardo Merino, 24, is charged with Armed Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Residential Burglary, Aggravated Fleeing From An Officer, Breaking and Entering, Aggravated Battery That May Result In Death Or Great Bodily Harm, Larceny of a Firearm and Receiving or Transfer of a Stolen Vehicle.

Online jail records show Merino was booked into the county jail without bond.

On Wednesday, June 5, 2018, a spokeswoman with the Doña County Sheriff’s Office told ABC-7 a woman called from the 4200 block of Soto to let deputies know she and her husband saw “a strange car and a strange Hispanic man inside” their home after they arrived at the residence.The man, reportedly shirtless, started firing at the couple, the sheriff’s office said. The couple was not wounded during the shooting.

Sheriff’s deputies nearby heard the gunshots and spotted the suspect’s vehicle. The deputies started pursuing the vehicle north on I-25. Merino, still heading north, allegedly drove onto the southbound lanes of traffic, the sheriff’s office said.

The suspect then exited onto the northbound lanes on Triviz, before crashing into a utility pole near the Omni Apartment complex.

The suspect fled on foot and the deputies lost him for a brief period. The sheriff’s office spokeswoman said Merino entered a home on Payne Street and allegedly assaulted a 23-year-old woman before taking her vehicle. The woman was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

Merino allegedly fled in the woman’s vehicle, but ultimately surrendered to Las Cruces Police at Panlener and Solano, the sheriff’s office said.