Las Cruces Police Chief calls for action on repeat offenders
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA)--Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story says repeat offenders are one of the city’s biggest challenges but it’s a problem his department can’t solve alone.
“There’s not one thing that’s going to fix this,” Story said. “I wish there was, because it would make it a lot easier. But there are failures at every level.”
Story said those failures have allowed men like Neal Garcia to remain on the streets. According to Story, Garcia has been arrested more than 70 times between 2022 and 2025, including for violent offenses. Public court records show Garcia’s charges in New Mexico date back to 2001.
“He’s hurting people, victimizing people, causing problems in our businesses, in our community and breaking windows at City Hall multiple times,” Story said.
Garcia’s most recent case, involving the breaking of windows at Las Cruces City Hall, was dismissed in September after a court found him not competent to stand trial and not dangerous.
Story said the current system is failing both the community and offenders like Garcia.
“If your family member is working at Walgreens and gets punched in the face while they’re just trying to do their job, we’d all say that person is dangerous,” Story said. “And he’s done things like that multiple times.”
The Doña Ana County District Attorney’s Office petitioned for involuntary commitment and assisted outpatient treatment, but neither was granted. Story said existing laws make it nearly impossible to get offenders the help they need or to keep them off the streets.
“There are resources available to him,” Story said. “We cannot find a way to get him plugged in and make him do those things, because it doesn’t exist within the law.”
Now, Story is calling on state lawmakers to address the issue of habitual offenders.
“There’s a list that’s far too long of people like him,” he said. “If we could keep repeat offenders off the streets, we’d make a significant impact in our community.”
Story also emphasized the financial burden repeat offenders place on taxpayers.
