LAS CRUCES – Several witnesses watched a Las Cruces man drive his vehicle onto a barricade on Interstate 25. Several other witnesses watched as the man jumped out of the car with a kitchen knife and ambushed an off-duty police officer who had stopped to help.
The incident, which occurred on November 8, resulted in the death of a man and the closure of a school in Las Cruces for a day.
While the city of Las Cruces and Las Cruces police did not confirm the man’s identity, several sources with firsthand knowledge of the incident told Sun News that Dagoberto Jimenez, 28, was the alleged car thief. Jimenez committed suicide at the end of the incident.
Witness 911 calls to 911 – received from Sun News about a public record request. – Describe the car theft by an off-duty Las Cruces police officer who set off the incident just before 7 a.m. along I-25 south of Las Cruces.
“I just got on (I-25) and someone (expletive) drove straight into the middle barrier,” one caller described. “I don’t know if they’re still alive. The whole front of the car flew away.
Note to listeners: The 911 audio below contains explicit and graphical language. The story continues after the audio embeds.
After expressing concern about the incident, this caller advises dispatchers that a police officer is arriving.
“It looks like the police might already be out here. I think we’re fine,” he says.
After recording the name of this caller, the dispatchers received another call from the officer who arrived at the scene first. The officer, whose name was not disclosed, informed dispatchers that the man who crashed his vehicle had just kidnapped him.
“I stopped to help. He came out with a knife and threatened me. I am in uniform,” said the officer.
Note: The story continues after the audio embeds.
In a post-incident press release, the LCPD said the officer was out of service when he stopped to help the victim. The LCPD said the official’s vehicle, a black Hyundai Sonata, was his personal vehicle.
The off duty officer informed the dispatcher that he had managed to get a rifle out of his car before the car thief took off. However, a pistol and a bulletproof vest remained in the trunk. He reminds this dispatcher of this several times when describing the incident.
A man who drove an RV also called 911 and said he saw the whole thing.
“There was an accident. A guy just took someone’s car. He had a knife in his hand,” says the witness. “He’s just passing University Avenue on the highway.”
The driver said he and his wife had slowed down after the accident. He said his wife pulled out her phone to record the accident, watched the car theft, and then drove in the same direction as the car theft.
“Somebody got out, it looked like a security guard or a police officer, and when he looked at the man who was involved in the accident he got out with a knife and ran after him, then he stole his car and he is on the right “now” he said.
Note: The story continues after the audio embeds.
The RV driver can follow the car thief for a while as they both head north on I-25. The motorhome driver describes the car thief’s driving style as typical and says he adheres to the speed limit during the call. The motorhome driver had previously informed the dispatcher that the car thief almost caught him.
Then he speculates with the dispatcher that the car thief might try to interfere in the traffic.
“I have a motorhome so I really can’t. I will lose her soon,” said the driver.
After a few minutes, the motorhome driver worries that the car thief might find that he is being followed. Before he can react, he informs the dispatcher that the carjacker is making an abrupt U-turn.
“He’s making a U-turn on the freeway. Right in front of the exit six sign,” he said. “I’ve lost him completely now.”
Eventually the car thief turns onto Lohman Avenue and the police begin following Sonata west as Lohman merges onto Amador Avenue.
An eyewitness told Sun News that police carried out a PIT maneuver to stop the vehicle and it crashed into the Mesilla Valley Leadership Academy compound, which was surrounded by Amador and Lohman avenues and Almendra and Esperanza streets .
When police and SWAT responded to the incident, witnesses said a single shot was heard near the suspected car thief.
Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ Just516garc.
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