Felon facing multiple charges after he's found in stolen Game and Fish truck

DOÑA ANA COUNTY - Two Doña Ana County Sheriff's detectives found a stolen Ford pickup truck belonging to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish on Friday morning, hours after it was reported missing.

The vehicle, a gray 2018 Ford F-250, reportedly contained a firearm and part of a New Mexico Game and Fish officer's uniform. It was reportedly taken from an address in the 2400 block of Enriquez Lane just after 7 a.m.

The auto theft suspect, Alejandro Norberto Nevarez, 27, of Las Cruces, was arrested shortly after 10 a.m., in the parking lot of a restaurant at the intersection of Missouri Avenue and El Paseo Road, after detectives observed him attempting to enter the vehicle via the passenger side door.

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Nevarez was reportedly wearing a Game and Fish department-issued hat when he was taken into custody.

Las Cruces police assisted DASO in the arrest.

Following his arrest, Nevarez was transported to the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office for questioning, and later charged with the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, impersonating a police officer, and a felon in the possession of a weapon.

Nevarez was booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond pending arraignment.

Nevarez's criminal history includes a 2012 felony conviction for shooting at or from a motor vehicle and tampering with evidence. The charge stems from a November 2010 incident in which Nevarez fired a shotgun at another vehicle on La Fonda Drive. No one was hurt.

In 2011, Nevarez pleaded no contest to felony counts of drug trafficking and battery on a peace officer.

Bethany Freudenthal can be reached at bfreudenthal@lcsun-news.com, 575-541-5449 or @bethanyfreuden1 on Twitter.

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