Las Cruces man pleads guilty to committing murder with a sword

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Arturo Francisco Quintana pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and will spend the 10 years in prison.

Las Cruces Police found the body of Efren Gutierrez June 10, 2020 on the 1100 block of East Boutz. They saw Quintana swinging a large sword in the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex.

Neighbors reported seeing Quintana act "menacingly" and yelling that he had to kill Gutierrez because "he's killing women and kids." Police say Quintana left the scene riding a BMX bike.

Read our initial reporting here.

Officers said they found Quintana and arrested him a short time later. A police affidavit obtained by ABC-7 indicated that Quintana later confessed to the killing, saying he wanted to cut Gutierrez’s head off.