LAS CRUCES - A Las Cruces man was arrested Thursday after allegedly hearing his wife screaming from his apartment building's laundry room, then rushing into the facility and brandishing a gun.

Court documents state that when Joe Galvan, 37, of the 1100 block of Triviz Avenue saw that it was just a fight, he put the gun away and brought his wife, Nini Richardson, back to their apartment.

Court documents state police found the victim's clothing in the couple's apartment during a search, as well as a .357 revolver.

Galvan was arrested and charged with one felony count of aggravated assault.

At deadline, there was no record of Galvan's wife being arrested for this incident.

The incident

Jessica Gay was doing her laundry Thursday evening at the apartment complex when, she told police, Richardson entered the facility, accused her of stealing her clothes and began to beat her up.

She then allegedly punched Gay in the left eye with a closed fist, knocking her to the ground. As police were talking to her about the incident, they reported noticing Gay's eye was swelling up.

Court documents state Gay curled up into a ball on ground as she was allegedly punched repeatedly by Richardson.

At one point, court documents state Gay heard Richardson make a phone call, in which she allegedly told the person on the other end that someone was in the laundry room trying to steal her clothes.

A few minutes later, Galvan is alleged to have showed up in the facility with a gun in his waistband and brandishing it at Gay.

During a search of Richardson and Galvan's apartment, court documents state police found Gay's clothing in a locked cabinet.

The investigation

When police arrived at the scene, court documents state Gay was able to describe her alleged attacker's home.

Court documents state police knew who Richardson was due to previous encounters with her.

After a short standoff at Richardson and Galvan's apartment, court documents state Richardson told police she walked into the laundry room and saw her belongings strewn about.

Galvan allegedly told investigators that he heard his wife yelling, ran to the laundry room and pulled out his gun, but he didn't point it at Gay, before taking his wife back to their apartment.

After a search warrant was executed, court documents state police found Gay's belongings in the couple's apartment, as well as a .357 revolver in the same room, that was wrapped in a towel inside of a shoebox.

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

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