The
man wanted on a violent felony warrant who exchanged gunfire with police late
Monday afternoon has been identified as 21-year-old Daniel M. Munoz of Las
Cruces.
Munoz
was wanted for Saturday evening’s armed robbery and shooting on Foster Road
that critically injured a 51-year-old man. Las Cruces police investigators
presented evidence of that incident to a Magistrate Court judge who signed the
warrant for Munoz’s arrest on Sunday. The warrant charges Munoz with one count
of armed robbery and one count of attempted first-degree murder. Both charges
are second-degree felonies.
About
4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4, Las Cruces police and agents from the U.S. Marshals
Service were attempting to apprehend Munoz near Divot Avenue. During the
attempted apprehension, Munoz exchanged gunfire with officers and was struck at
least once. He succumbed to his injuries in the parking lot of 2301 E. Lohman
Ave. Police recovered a handgun that was in his possession.
No
officers were injured in the exchange of gunfire.
In
Saturday’s incident, Las Cruces police learned that Munoz went to an apartment
at 1002 Foster Road where he committed an armed robbery and shot a 51-year-old
man multiple times. One of the rounds traveled through the floor of the
victim’s apartment into a downstairs residence. The downstairs apartment was
not occupied at the time, and no other injuries were reported. The victim was
transported in critical condition to University Medical Center of El Paso where
he remains hospitalized Tuesday.
Munoz
fled the Foster Road incident before police arrived and his whereabouts were
unknown until Monday when police made contact with him near Divot Avenue.
Two
Las Cruces police officers were placed on standard administrative leave after
Monday’s shooting. Names of the officers will not be released until the
completion of the investigation.
Monday’s
shooting is being investigated by the Officer-involved Incident Task Force that
includes detectives from New Mexico State Police, Las Cruces Police, the Dona
Ana County Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico State University Police. Once the
investigation is completed, its findings will be presented to the Third
Judicial District Attorney’s Office for review.