A Las Cruces man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for carjacking and firearms offenses. The sentencing follows a violent incident that occurred in February 2023.
Court documents reveal that on February 19, 2023, officers from the Las Cruces Police Department attempted to stop a black Cadillac sedan with no visible license plate. The vehicle did not comply and was later found parked in front of Rack Room Shoes on E. Lohman Ave.
Officers saw Sergio Ivan Enriquez, aged 41, approaching the Cadillac. Upon noticing the officers, Enriquez fled on foot. Shortly after, reports came through indicating that an individual matching Enriquez's description had committed a carjacking at gunpoint in the same parking lot.
During the incident, Enriquez entered a victim's vehicle through the front passenger door and demanded the victim "get out or drive." When the victim refused, Enriquez brandished a gray handgun and forced them to exit the vehicle. He then drove away with the victim's dog still inside.
Authorities later located both the stolen Volkswagen and Enriquez at a residence in Las Cruces. A search revealed a gray handgun hidden in the kitchen oven and a shotgun inside the initial Cadillac.
Enriquez was previously convicted of child abuse in 2014 and was prohibited from possessing firearms at the time of this incident.
Following his release from prison, he will be under three years of supervised release.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez alongside Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case was investigated by the FBI Albuquerque Field Office’s Las Cruces Resident Agency with help from the Las Cruces Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria Y. Armijo and Ry Ellison.