Las Cruces Woman, 24, Held Without Bond After Alleged Bat Attack Injures Two Teens

A 24-year-old Las Cruces woman is being held without bond after police say she chased her ex-girlfriend and a friend into the desert, assaulted two teenagers, and left one with a broken wrist and a concussion severe enough to require an airlift to El Paso. Anissa Danae Vigil now faces 15 total charges, including eight felonies, stemming from a domestic dispute that investigators say began the night after she and her ex-girlfriend ended their relationship.

According to jail records cited by KVIA, Vigil faces two counts of abuse of a child resulting in great bodily harm, two counts of battery against a household member, two counts of imprisonment, two counts of stalking, two counts of telephone use to threaten, harass or offend, a kidnapping charge, a charge of aggravated assault against a household member with a deadly weapon, and criminal damage to property of a household member. Documents reviewed by the station indicate Vigil and her ex-girlfriend split the night before the alleged assaults, and that Vigil spent the hours afterward calling and texting the young woman constantly while she slept and going through her phone.

Booking records from the Doña Ana County Detention Center show Vigil was formally booked on August 23 under Booking #2600006778, according to GOT Busted News, which reported the same eight-felony, seven-misdemeanor breakdown. That timeline lines up with the account described in court documents obtained by the same publication that first reported the case.

Desert Pursuit and a Confrontation at a Family Party

Per the documents KVIA reviewed, Vigil allegedly tracked her ex-girlfriend's location through a friend and followed the pair around town and into the desert. She is accused of texting her ex-girlfriend to come back or she would cause a scene, and the teen allegedly heard Vigil say she was on her way to their location. At a family party, Vigil allegedly forced her ex-girlfriend into a vehicle and refused to let her leave, then prevented her from getting out again once inside.

Investigators say Vigil also allegedly tried to run over her ex-girlfriend and threatened to break her hands. The confrontation escalated into a physical fight in which Vigil allegedly punched the 17-year-old girl across her body and hit the other teenager with a baseball bat. The 17-year-old ultimately struck Vigil with the bat in an effort to separate her from the other teen, the documents state.

Injuries Sent One Teen to an El Paso Trauma Center

The fight left the 17-year-old with a concussion, according to the documents, and a doctor told investigators she vomited blood at some point afterward. The other teenager sustained several injuries, including a broken wrist. Because Las Cruces hospitals routinely refer advanced pediatric and trauma cases to facilities roughly 45 miles south, one of the teens was airlifted to an El Paso hospital for treatment, as reported by KVIA.

Vigil herself told her mother she needed to go to the hospital after being attacked. Investigators observed dried blood on her face, head, and arms, and her head and face were swollen. She was treated and discharged with minor injuries from Mountain View Hospital, identified in other records as MountainView Regional Medical Center, a 168-bed acute care facility on East Lohman Avenue accredited by The Joint Commission, before being transported for booking.

No-Bond Hold and Pending Charges for Others Involved

Jail records show Vigil was booked without bond. Under New Mexico's pretrial detention framework, which replaced traditional cash bail, prosecutors must file a motion in district court and prove by clear and convincing evidence that a defendant poses a danger to the public and that no release conditions could reasonably protect the community, according to Organ Mountain News. The case will move through the Third Judicial District Court on West Picacho Avenue in Las Cruces, where felony charges from Doña Ana County are prosecuted, per the Third Judicial District's own court information.

The two counts of abuse of a child resulting in great bodily harm are especially significant given how New Mexico law treats that charge. Under state statute, child abuse resulting in great bodily harm is a first-degree felony carrying a basic statutory penalty of 18 years in prison per count upon conviction, according to the legal reference site Justia Law. The state's kidnapping statute similarly allows for reduced charge levels only when a captor voluntarily releases a victim in a safe place without physical injury, which does not appear to apply here given the reported injuries.

Documents indicate that charges for other people involved in the confrontation are still pending. It remains unclear how many additional individuals were present or what specific role they played in the altercation. New Mexico's Crimes Against Household Members Act requires prosecutors to establish that a victim shared a former romantic or continuing personal relationship with a defendant for domestic violence statutes to apply, which is why the charges against Vigil reference her prior relationship with her ex-girlfriend.

Under the New Mexico Victims' Rights Act, both juvenile victims are guaranteed notice of court proceedings and the right to submit victim impact statements as the case proceeds. The incident adds to a broader pattern in the region: Doña Ana County law enforcement agencies processed more than 2,000 domestic violence crisis calls over a recent five-year monitoring period, with the Las Cruces Police Department handling a major share of those filings, according to New Mexico Department of Health data reported on Facebook. No additional details on upcoming hearing dates for Vigil have been released.