Las Cruces man points gun at Grants cops

Mario Serrano

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Mario Serrano, of Las Cruces, was arrested and charged with multiple felonies after allegedly pointing a 9mm handgun at police and then running into a fence while trying to escape.

About 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, Serrano was a passenger in a car driven by his brother Gilbert near the Franciscan Lodge on East Santa Fe Avenue and was stopped by Grants Police Officer Jesse Nieto. Nieto stopped the vehicle because the car Serrano was in had a taillight that was out, Grants Police Detective Amber Marez said.

Mario Serrano got out of the car and pointed a gun at Nieto and Officer Kevin Dobbs, Marez said.

Both officers pulled their weapons as Serrano started running. While he was looking over his shoulder and pointing his gun at the officers, he ran into a fence, she said.

“He dropped the gun and Officer Nieto immediately picked it up.

“While Serrano was on the ground, and while both officers were trying to arrest him he fought and fought ... hard,” she said.

Serrano was finally subdued after being tazed, she said.

The handgun was reported stolen out of Roswell and police found more than 60 grams of methamphetamine, more than 60 grams of marijuana and crack cocaine, Marez said.

Mario Serrano initially gave police a false name of Juan Chavez. It took two days for police to find out who he was through investigative techniques, she said.

“Early in the morning we are looking mainly for traffic citations,” Marez said.

Nieto smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car when it was stopped, she said.

“Usually when officers have a traffic stop, they begin to look for other things if there is anything unusual about the behavior or seemingly out of place,” she said.

Gilbert Serrano is charged in connection with possession of a firearm by a felon and receiving stolen property. He faces two preliminary hearings, one on Tuesday and the other April 8, in Cibola County Magistrate Court.

Mario Serrano faces the following multiple charges: Aggravated assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a felon, receiving stolen property, possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, possession of marijuana, trafficking in a controlled substance and concealing identity.

A preliminary hearing had not yet been set for Mario Serrano Monday.