19-year-old charged with burglarizing Las Cruces apartment, shooting woman

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- 19-year old Christian Cervantes Nieto is charged with felony counts aggravated assault, aggravated residential burglary, and of shooting at a house. Las Cruces Police accuse him of shooting and injuring a woman at an apartment on the 1900 block of West Picacho Avenue Saturday, June 15, 2024.

Officers arrived at the apartment complex around 10:30 PM Saturday. Witnesses told them Cervantes Nieto shot at the apartment, then went inside, pointing a shotgun and making demands at the 36-year-old woman inside. Police have not identified the victim.

Police say Cervantes Nieto sped off in a black SUV after the altercation. Police found and arrested him Sunday morning near the intersection of Espanola and Utah, according to online jail records. When they found Cervantes Nieto, police officers recovered the shotgun.

The victim had suffered injuries "from either the shotgun pellets or from broken glass," police say. She refused to go to the hospital.

Cervantes Nieto is currently being held in the Dona Ana County Detention Center without bond.