Auto thefts increase for third year in a row in Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - Car thefts increased almost 22% within Las Cruces last year, according to data from the city. In the past two years, they have more than doubled.

In 2021, there were 595 auto thefts, according to a city spokeswoman. The city had not updated the annual crime reports since 2019.

However, the city did release the data from 2020 and 2021 to KVIA.

Sonny Dorado told ABC-7 that his 2004 Cadillac DeVille DTS was locked up on a friend's property, but someone towed it away and stole it last week.

“I loved the Cadillac," Dorado said. "It was amazing. It was the best car.”

He said his father is battling cancer and that missing a car is a huge inconvenience.

"Now that my car’s gone, I can’t do anything," admitted Angela Luera, a young mother. "I am stranded. I can’t go anywhere.”

Luera said she was visiting a friend when someone stole her 2007 Green Prius on Saturday. She suspects whoever stole her car also made charges on her credit card at a smoke shop and a car wash.

"I was like, 'Oh my goodness, he's going to clean my car for me?'" she laughed.

When Natalie Baca's father's RV trailer was stolen, she said she was shocked.

“My mom calls me and she’s like, ‘They stole the RV! They stop the RV!'" she recalled. "I'm like 'What? What do you mean?'"

Thanks to a social media page called Las Cruces Community Watch, she said her family was able to locate the RV within 24 hours. Her brother and father actually approached the people inside it.

"They managed to hold them down until the police showed up," she said. "It was about an hour.”