A 42-year-old man has pleaded guilty to armed robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon against a household member after admitting he planned and carried out a baseball bat attack on his former partner near Burn Lake. Kurtis Allan Dale punctured the tires of the victim's vehicle, left the scene, then returned with two accomplices to carry out the assault, according to court records.
The noticiaselpaso.com reports that Dale admitted he drove to Burn Lake on the night of November 20, 2025, with the intention of attacking the victim. He parked behind the victim's vehicle and punctured the rear tires before initially leaving the area, according to the same account.
A separate report from KVIA states that Dale, along with Jacklyn Garcia and Eufemia Villa, were arrested after allegedly attacking a man at Burn Lake Park on November 26, 2025 — a date that does not match the November 20 timeline described elsewhere in the case. The dossier does not clarify whether these are the same incident described with conflicting dates or two separate events, and neither account resolves the discrepancy.
A Planned Return With a Bat
According to the noticiaselpaso.com account, Dale returned to the scene shortly after leaving, this time with two accomplices, and got out of the vehicle carrying a baseball bat. The accomplices held the victim down while Dale struck the victim several times with the bat, per the same report.
Dale struck the victim on the left side of the head during the assault, breaking the bat in the process, the outlet reports. He then took a cellphone belonging to a friend of the victim and fled the scene, according to the account.
A witness called police and checked on the victim, who was found lying on the ground in a pool of blood, per the same report. District Attorney Fernando Macias described the victim as seriously injured and afraid of reprisals; the victim went home fearing Dale might return.
Separate Charges for Two Co-Defendants
KVIA's earlier report states that police responded to Burn Lake Park around 8:23 p.m. on November 26, 2025, after receiving a report of a fight at the park. The victim told police that Dale hit him with the bat four times, causing several injuries, the station reported. Court documents cited by the station indicate the three were arrested on April 1, 2026.
Jacklyn Garcia, 34, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, while Eufemia Villa, also 34, was charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. Garcia and Villa have trials scheduled for November 23, 2026, according to noticiaselpaso.com.
Prosecution and Sentencing Ahead
Assistant District Attorney Tomas Medina prosecuted the case on behalf of the State of New Mexico following an investigation by the Las Cruces Police Department, per noticiaselpaso.com. The state is seeking a five-year sentence for Dale, though no sentencing date has been scheduled, the outlet reports.
With Garcia and Villa's trials still more than three weeks away, the broader case against all three defendants remains unresolved even as Dale's guilty plea closes out his portion of the prosecution.
