New Details: Teen accused of shooting friend before gun heist

Update (October 15, 2025): Las Cruces Police say Evan Gabriel Martinez, 18, is charged with attempted murder and tampering with evidence after an attempted gun heist.

Police responded to a house in Las Cruces at 2:30 a.m. Monday and found a 15-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound. Police say the boy's injuries were serious, but not life-threatening.

"Investigators learned Martinez and the 15-year-old boy were friends and had been planning to commit a residential burglary to steal firearms," police officials explained. "Martinez and the boy met up before the planned burglary and that’s when the teenager was shot once."

Police then found Martinez at his dad's house, where he was taken into custody without further incident.
 
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Las Cruces police at (575) 526-0795.

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- A teenager is behind bars tonight, after court documents say he shot his friend before a potential gun heist.

According to court documents, 18 year old Evan Gabriel Martinez and Elijah Donovan Herrera were conspiring to steal firearms from a home near Parkhill Drive in East Las Cruces.

Court documents detail Instagram messages that show the pair had devised a plan to meet at an alleyway before making their way to the home.

The court affidavit says that the pair were walking near Dos Vistas and Arena, when Martinez shot Herrera in the back, before running away.

Herrera made a statement to officers saying he believes it was intentional.

When officers responded to the area, they found Herrera with a gunshot wound, before having him transported to the University Medical Center for treatment.

Officers then began the investigation, and soon found Martinez at his home off of Agate street.

According to the documents, that's where officers located the clothing Herrera says Martinez was wearing during the shooting. Officers also found a handgun, hidden under a sofa cushion.

Martinez is currently on probation. He was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center on a murder charge, and a tampering with evidence charge.