Man’s rampage, dog-tossing tirade at Chucky’s convenience store caught on camera
DOÑA ANA COUNTY, New Mexico -- A disturbing video shows a man's rampage at a Chucky's convenience store in Dona Ana County.
The man walks into the store, assaults the clerk, and then vandalizes the store. The video later shows the man outside approaching a car. He opens the door, reaches in, grabs a dog and throws it to the asphalt. That moment happens at the 3:28 mark in the video attached to this story.
It appears to bounce but quickly runs away from the offender.
The rampage continues as the man gets into a physical confrontation with the driver. A struggle ensues with the offender throwing the driver to the ground and begins to kick the driver.
That's when a swarm of people comes to the victim's aid, one armed with what appears to be a painter's pole.
The offender starts to run into traffic as the crowd goes into the upper part of the screen, and the video comes to an end.
Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart said the incident happened at the Chucky's on 800 East Thorpe around 10 a.m. but was preceded by an earlier call at 5800 Abeyta.
A woman on Abeyta had called Sheriff's deputies saying a man was being disorderly and asked to leave. When deputies arrived, they asked the man to leave and he complied.
When the second call came in, Sheriff Stewart said they would later make the connection to the previous incident.
The man was identified as 43-year-old Elee Silva Garcia.
He's been charged with criminal damage to property, aggravated battery, and a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals.
Those charges could later be updated based on the investigation.
According to Sheriff Steward, the victims were not seriously injured, and the dog appears to be alright.
Sheriff Stewart said Garcia had been determined to have mental challenges and perhaps something more severe that requires medication, but that has not been verified.
Sheriff Stewart said deputies have been trained in the basics of crisis intervention and have gone one step further, with as many as 15 patrol officers having already attended more in-depth training.
She says thankfully, this incident ended peacefully.
