The tranquility of a Las Cruces neighborhood was pierced on an otherwise placid Sunday afternoon when police responded to reports of a domestic disturbance potentially teetering on violence. The incident, which unfolded on the 1900 block of Embassy Drive, resulted in an officer-involved shooting and ended with 21-year-old Dominic Gage Martinez in custody. According to the Las Cruces Police Department, Martinez is now facing a felony charge of aggravated assault on a peace officer, among other misdemeanor allegations.
Details emerged as the Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD) pieced together the afternoon's harrowing moments, which began around 3:40 p.m. on July 27 with a call alerting authorities to an armed individual threatening violence. When law enforcement arrived on scene, the confrontation escalated quickly, with at least one shot discharged by police before Martinez was detained through the employment of non-lethal means.
Martinez, who was injured in the arrest but not as a result of gunfire, was treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening wounds. After a short stay, he was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond. In the meantime, the officer who fired their weapon was not injured and has been placed on administrative leave, a protocol that is standard in such officer-involved shootings.
The incident has prompted an investigation by the Officer-involved Incident Task Force, which brings together different law enforcement agencies to examine the circumstances surrounding such events. These agencies include the New Mexico State Police, the aforementioned LCPD, Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office, and New Mexico State University Police. This assembly of force is tasked with dissecting Sunday’s series of events and piecing together an objective narrative.
