Las Cruces man sleeping in car wakes up to find stranger driving it; knife fight ensues

Bethany Freudenthal | Las Cruces Sun-News

LAS CRUCES - A Las Cruces man woke up in the backseat of a vehicle Thursday morning, Dec. 18, to find a man he didn't know driving it on the interstate. The two men got into a knife fight and the driver was eventually arrested and charged with multiple felonies.

Joseph Allen, 40, of Las Cruces, is charged with:

aggravated battery with a deadly weapon

auto burglary

the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle

false imprisonment

Ignacio Baca, of Las Cruces, told authorities the incident began after he fell asleep in the back seat of his girlfriend's 2006 Toyota Corolla. Baca had dropped off his girlfriend for work at the NTS truck stop in Vado about 11 p.m. Wednesday and instead of going home, he parked the car and fell asleep.

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Baca told Doña Ana County Sheriff's Detective Ileana Adame that he'd left the vehicle running while he was sleeping, and later woke up and realized the car was traveling east on Interstate 10.

Baca said he popped up and asked the man who the h--- he was, and proceeded to punch and choke him.

As Baca was punching and choking Allen, the car swerved. Court documents allege Allen told Baca that he was going to die today, and when he regained control of the vehicle, he pulled off to the side of the road.

Allen then pulled out a knife and allegedly slashed Baca on the left side of his rib, and upper right arm. Baca said he then grabbed the triple-edged knife from Allen, and in doing so, sustained deep cuts to the inner part of his right thumb, right index finger and the tip of his pinkie, requiring stitches.

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After fighting over the knife, court documents state Allen exited the vehicle, making hand gestures as if he was loading a firearm. He then allegedly told Baca a second time that he was going to die that day.

When Baca realized Allen didn't actually have a gun, he grabbed his own sweater out of the vehicle, told Allen he could have the car, and ran back to NTS, where he called 911.

It's unclear from court documents when and where Allen was taken into custody, but he's now booked into Doña Ana County Detention Center.

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

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