A man wanted in the March 4, 2025, killing of a coworker at a Las Cruces Sonic Drive-In is now facing a decade behind bars in Texas after a violent showdown with law enforcement in El Paso. He was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting officers during his capture. The gunfire erupted when members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force closed in on him in El Paso, and Doña Ana County prosecutors say they will now push to extradite him to New Mexico to face a homicide charge.
Court records show that 21-year-old Luciano Roman Valente Frias pleaded guilty to three counts of assaulting a public servant and received a 10-year term in an El Paso courtroom. The plea stems from the confrontation with officers that unfolded as the fugitive task force tried to arrest him, according to KDBC/CBS4.
The homicide that set all of this in motion happened on March 4, 2025, at the Sonic Drive-In on Foothills Road, where Las Cruces police say 20-year-old employee Benjamin Hernandez was shot and later pronounced dead. Investigators described an argument between coworkers that spiraled into deadly violence, according to the City of Las Cruces.
Arrest in El Paso Turned Into a Shootout
Local reporting says Frias was spotted the next day in El Paso's Lower Valley and took off running when officers approached. According to KVIA/ABC-7, he opened fire on officers, then reportedly tried to shoot himself before again aiming at police. Officers fired back, wounding him. Frias was hospitalized and later taken into custody by federal marshals.
What’s Next: Extradition and the Murder Charge
Now that Frias has been convicted on the Texas assault counts, Doña Ana County officials told reporters they will start the formal extradition process to bring him back to New Mexico to face the March 2025 murder charge. The 10-year sentence applies only to the Texas plea, and any prosecution in New Mexico would move forward after he is transferred, KDBC/CBS4 reported.
Hernandez, 20, was remembered by coworkers and neighbors after the shooting, and Las Cruces police urged anyone who saw the March 4 incident to come forward with information. The city included a tip line in its initial statement, according to the City of Las Cruces.
