EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The New Mexico State Police Investigation Bureau is looking into an officer-involved shooting in Alamogordo that ended what appears to be a Saturday morning crime spree.
The incident began about 7 a.m. along the 1000 block of 16th Street in Alamogordo when the city’s police department and the Otero County Sheriff’s Office responded to a car crash.
After the crash, witnesses reported that the driver of the vehicle attempted to go inside a nearby residence and was seen getting into the homeowner’s sports utility vehicle parked in the driveway before leaving on foot.
When officers arrived, they made contact with the suspect, identified as Robert Gutierrez Jr., 37, of Alamogordo. An Alamogordo police officer and Sheriff’s Office sergeant gave commands to Gutierrez, who was armed with a firearm, to drop the gun.
Shortly afterwards, both the police officer and Sheriff’s sergeant fired their duty weapons.
Alamogordo police released more information about the incident on Monday, Jan. 5.
According to Alamogordo police, they received a call at 6:55 a.m. Saturday from a person reporting that he had just been shot in his vehicle at the intersection of North White Sands Boulevard and Indian Wells.
At 7:05 a.m., Alamogordo police say they received a report of a stolen car and five minutes later, they received another call about a car crashing into a gas meter.
When police and Sheriff’s deputies arrived on scene, they learned the driver of the vehicle had fled on foot.
The suspect, later identified as Gutierrez, was located near an abandoned house. A some point during the encounter, Alamogordo police say, Gutierrez was armed with a gun and both a police officer and deputy fired their duty weapons, striking Gutierrez.
That’s when New Mexico State Police assumed the investigation of the officer-involved shooting. The names of the involved officers have not been released.
The Major Crimes Unit, involving multiple agencies in Southern New Mexico, assumed the investigation of the rest of the incident involving Gutierrez. During their investigation, they found a dead person with a gunshot wound on JJ Henry Road in nearby La Luz, New Mexico.
That body may be related to the other incidents, Alamogordo police say.
The suspect, Gutierrez, was transported to an area hospital where he is being treated for injuries believed to be non-life-threatening. No officers or deputies were injured during this incident.
He is being charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, shooting at or from a motor vehicle, possession of a firearm by a felon, tampering with evidence and unlawful taking of a vehicle.
This incident remains under investigation by the NMSP Investigations Bureau, which works to independently determine the series of events that led up to the shooting, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews.
