1 of 6 teens arrested in Las Cruces drug murder is identified as he turns 18
UPDATE, Sept. 16, 2021: One of a half-dozen teens arrested last year in a deadly Las Cruces shooting tied to drugs was publicly identified on Thursday as he turned 18 and was transferred from juvenile custody to the Dona Ana County Jail's adult population.
According to jail records, Adrian Chacon is charged with first-degree murder in the Aug. 4, 2020 death of Fabian Lopez, 24, who was shot in his car near Frenger Park during what police said was an apparent drug deal gone bad.
Chacon was being held on $50,000 bond. In addition to murder, jail booking records show he is also facing charges of child abuse and two counts of armed robbery.
Court records involving Chacon remained unavailable since he was a juvenile at the time he allegedly committed the crime.
UPDATE, Aug. 17, 2020: Las Cruces police announced Monday the arrests and charging of three teenage boys – two 16-year-olds and a 13-year-old – with felony murder in a deadly shooting earlier this month.
In addition, police said they charged two 17-year-old girls and another 16-year-old boy with aiding and assisting one of the teens charged with murder in fleeing Las Cruces.
Identities of all the teens charged were not released because they are juveniles, police said.
Investigators say all the charges stem from an apparent drug deal gone bad in which 24-year-old Fabian Lopez was fatally shot in his car near Frenger Park on the night of Aug. 4.
After Lopez was shot, his car crashed on a nearby street with him still behind the wheel.
ORIGINAL REPORT, Aug. 5, 2020: LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Police on Wednesday released a photo of a man being sought for questioning in a deadly Las Cruces shooting the night before, and offered a reward in the hopes of finding him.
The shooting happened about 9 p.m. in the 900 block of Branson Avenue near S. Espina Street.
Officers responding to reports of shots fired in the area said they found the gunshot victim inside a car that crashed into a yard.
The victim, identified by police as 24-year-old Fabian Lopez, was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died a short time later.
Police asked anyone who knew the man pictured in the photo they released to contact investigators, and Crime Stoppers offered a $2,000 reward for information in the case.
Authorities said tips about the man they described as a "person of interest" can be provided anonymously by calling Las Cruces Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
