LCPD: Felon faces drug, firearm and…

Police in Las Cruces have arrested a felon from Chaparral suspected of being in possession of a control substance and an assault rifle, following a traffic stop that took place on Saturday evening.

David Adam Pedraza, 29, has been charged with felony counts of possession of a controlled substance by a felon, possession of a firearm by a felon, as well as violating the terms of his probation. An additional three misdemeanor charges have been issued to Pedraza, including resisting, evading or obstruction of an officer, assault upon a peace officer, and attempted tampering of evidence.

These charges follow after Pedraza was a passenger in a vehicle during a traffic stop at Houma Street near Palmer Road on September 22nd.

According to police, an officer spotted a Ford F-250 pickup truck speeding down Gallagher Avenue. Upon catching up with the truck, the officer noticed the license plate was heavily worn and partially blocked, making it unreadable from a distance.

After issuing the driver various citations for traffic violations and possession of drug paraphernalia, the officer began investigating the passenger of the vehicle. At that moment, the it was discovered Pedraza had a plastic bag allegedly containing what appeared to be black tar heroin in his pocket.

As Pedraza was being handcuffed, he allegedly grabbed the plastic bag with his free hand in an attempt to ingest it, but was stopped by the officer before he could accomplish the act.

Further investigation into the truck revealed an assault rifle in a black sheath, which the driver indicated as belonging to Pedraza.

Due to Pedraza’s previous felony convictions, the discovery of the assault rifle led to the charge of possession of a firearm by a felon.

He was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond.

KVIA 2018