GUADALUPE COUNTY, NM — New Mexico State Police arrested a 22-year-old man after they say he stole a red work truck from a gas station just off Interstate 40, then became involved in a shooting that left him and his ex-girlfriend wounded.
Investigators say the incident began Saturday morning at the Phillips 66 Milagro gas station in Guadalupe County, between Clines Corners and Santa Rosa. The man, identified as Riel Gonzales, was taken into custody after a confrontation that also involved the woman’s mother and her boyfriend.
Authorities say the case is still under investigation.
Police say the truck was taken while the driver was pumping gas
According to New Mexico State Police, the theft happened sometime after 11:10 a.m. Gonzales allegedly took the red work truck while the driver was pumping gas at the station.
Officials say the sequence began after Gonzales’ ex-girlfriend left him at the gas station and drove to a home. That set off the chain of events that eventually led to the armed confrontation on a nearby road.
The gas station sits just off I-40 in a stretch of eastern New Mexico that connects Clines Corners and Santa Rosa. Police have not said what led to the breakup or why the woman left him there.
Confrontation moves to NM-119 and turns violent
Police say the woman’s mother later picked her up and then encountered Gonzales on NM-119 while leaving the area. At some point during that encounter, shots were fired and the vehicles collided.
New Mexico State Police say Gonzales then allegedly opened fire on the woman’s mother’s boyfriend. Authorities say the boyfriend returned fire.
The details released so far do not spell out the exact order of every shot and collision, but investigators say the confrontation escalated quickly once the vehicles met on the roadway.
Both Gonzales and his ex-girlfriend were treated for gunshot wounds to the arm
After the exchange of gunfire, the people involved eventually subdued Gonzales, and officers took him into custody. Police said Gonzales and his ex-girlfriend each received treatment for a gunshot wound to the arm.
Authorities did not immediately provide information on the severity of their injuries beyond that treatment. They also did not say whether anyone else was hurt in the collision or the gunfire.
The arrest ended the immediate confrontation, but state police said they are still sorting out the full timeline of what happened at the gas station and on NM-119.
Gonzales booked on a probation hold with multiple felony counts
Police took Gonzales to the Colfax County Detention Center on a probation hold, according to New Mexico State Police. He now faces five counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, two counts of unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, three counts of criminal property over $1,000 and other charges.
The charges reflect both the alleged truck theft and the violence that followed. Authorities have not announced a court date or provided additional information about the probation hold.
Booking him into custody in Colfax County placed him in the regional jail system while the investigation continued.
State police continue to investigate the shooting and vehicle theft
New Mexico State Police said the case remains active. Investigators have not said whether additional charges are possible or whether any further arrests are expected.
The agency’s account points to a case that began as a vehicle theft and quickly grew into a multi-agency response involving a crash, gunfire and medical treatment for two people. The location near I-40, between two eastern New Mexico communities, put the confrontation in a corridor used by travelers and local drivers alike.
For now, police say the major pieces are Gonzales’ arrest, the truck theft allegation, the armed encounter on NM-119 and the injuries sustained by him and his ex-girlfriend.