Man accused of robbing Vado Family Dollar at gunpoint arrested on weapons charge near Las Cruces elementary school

Update (December 5, 2024): Jail records state the FBI arrested Trujillo the morning of December 4, 2024 and booked him into the Dona Ana County Detention Center on a Firearms: Receipt, Possession by Felon charge. Jail records show the FBI brought him in on a federal arrest warrant.

He is being held without bond, records show.

Agents arrested Trujillo in a residential area of Las Cruces, just blocks from Hillrise Elementary School.

VADO, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Dona Ana Sheriff deputies responded to reports of an armed robbery in progress at the Family Dollar on Vado Drive Monday.

Just before 10 PM, investigators say a lone man entered the store carrying a gun, taking cash from the register while store clerks hid in the back. Investigators explain that the man shot one round at one of the workers, barely missing her. The man then ran out of the store and the clerks called 911.

DASO detectives then started pouring over store security footage, putting together a description of the man, including ways of identifying his tattoos. At the same time, detectives analyzed the shell casing left at the scene.

Deputies identified the suspect soon after and started surveilling two potential addresses. The suspect, 37-year-old Ruben Jose Trujillo, showed up at one of the locations while detectives were waiting, officials say.

Detectives arrested Trujillo on armed robbery, aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and criminal damage to property. They booked him into the Dona Ana County Detention Center.

Once detectives looked inside Trujillo's home, they found "evidence of the Family Dollar robbery."