ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that Jesus Manuel Castaneda-Villa pleaded guilty on Nov. 29 to carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury. Castaneda-Villa, 32, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
According to the plea agreement and other court records, on Dec. 3, 2021, the victim allegedly met with Castaneda-Villa, her ex-boyfriend, in a La Quinta hotel in Las Cruces. After the two began to argue, Castaneda-Villa threw a toolbox at the victim. He demanded her car keys, threatened to put a “bullet through your head,” then pointed a firearm at her and took her purse and cell phone. As Castaneda-Villa was going through her purse, the victim jumped from an open window to escape. Castaneda-Villa then fled in the victim’s vehicle.
During her escape, the victim broke her right wrist, which caused her extreme physical pain and resulted in the protracted impairment of her ability to use her right hand.
By the terms of the plea agreement, Castaneda-Villa faces 11 years and eight months in prison.
The Las Cruces Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Las Cruces Police Department, New Mexico State Police and District Attorney’s Office for the 3rd Judicial District of New Mexico. Assistant United States Attorneys Marisa A. Ong and Matilda McCarthy Villalobos are prosecuting the case.
# # #