LAS CRUCES – Three Las Cruces men have pleaded guilty to federal firearms charges stemming from an investigation into a September 2025 shooting at Young Park and the discovery of loaded firearms near Hermosa Heights Elementary School.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, Las Cruces Police responded to reports of shots fired at Young Park on September 6, 2025. Officers recovered numerous shell casings from the park’s parking lot.
Shortly afterward, officers encountered 24-year-old John Anthony Orta and 22-year-old Steven Mendoza walking near Hermosa Heights Elementary School while carrying loaded firearms. Orta was carrying a handgun, while Mendoza had a partially disassembled pistol loaded with two rounds of ammunition.
Federal prosecutors said both men admitted they knowingly possessed the firearms within 540 feet of school property. Both were intoxicated and were initially arrested on state charges of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
As the investigation continued, authorities obtained search warrants for Orta’s and Mendoza’s cellphones. Investigators said social media messages discussing the Young Park shooting identified 23-year-old Luis Angel Ruiz as the person who fired the shots and indicated Ruiz owned the pistol found in Mendoza’s possession.
Federal authorities said investigators corroborated the information through eyewitness statements, social media posts showing Ruiz with the firearm and ballistic evidence.
Ruiz was arrested in a separate incident on September 24, 2025, after Las Cruces Police stopped him for traffic violations and arrested him for driving under the influence. Officers recovered four firearms from the vehicle, including a handgun with an obliterated serial number.
According to federal prosecutors, Ruiz admitted the firearms belonged to him and later acknowledged that he knew the handgun’s serial number had been obliterated. Investigators also recovered social media messages in which Ruiz attempted to sell the firearm.
Orta and Mendoza pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm in a school zone. Orta has been sentenced to six months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Mendoza has not yet been sentenced and faces up to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Ruiz pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm in a school zone and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He also faces up to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Sentencing dates for Mendoza and Ruiz have not yet been scheduled.
The cases were investigated by the FBI’s Las Cruces Resident Agency and Southern New Mexico Safe Streets Gang Task Force with assistance from the Las Cruces Police Department Street Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo is prosecuting the cases.
John Krehbiel – Bravo Mic Communications News – John@bravomic.com.
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