Intense video shows battery suspect ransacking Chucky's in Doña Ana
LAS CRUCES – One man is in custody following a violent encounter at the Chucky’s Gas Station in Doña Ana which left two people injured and the store a mess.
Elee Garcia Silva, 43, is charged with one felony count of criminal damage to property over $1,000, one count of criminal damage to property less than $1,000, one felony count of aggravated battery, one misdemeanor count of battery and one misdemeanor count cruelty to animals.
About 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 11, Silva walked into Chucky’s and can be seen on the convenience store's security camera yelling at the employee behind the counter. The camera shows him throwing items at the employee until she left.
For the next two minutes, Silva is seen on camera throwing items and pushing over racks, ultimately ransacking the store.
Then, he leaves.
The store's outside security camera shows him walking toward a vehicle near the gas pumps. He pulls open the front passenger side door of the vehicle and throws a small dog out. Silva then walks around to the driver’s side of the vehicle and pulls an older man out of the vehicle.
Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart said Silva hit the man with a bottle. Silva also pushes the man to the ground.
Bystanders intervene at this point and Silva runs off. He was soon after taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies.
Neither the employee, the man or the dog was seriously hurt, according to DASO.
It's unclear how much monetary damage the store sustained.
Stewart said Silva was likely experiencing a mental health episode. Earlier that day, deputies had responded to another call out concerning Silva. A woman claimed he was being disorderly. He complied with orders to leave the premises.
According to court records, Silva has been charged with aggravated battery and aggravated battery upon a peace office several times in the past.
He was booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center just after 5 p.m. Wednesday. Court actions were not entered into the system at the time this article published.
Ruben Rincon, who has been taken into custody a number of times for battery and criminal trespass, particularly in the area of that Chucky’s, could be seen in the video surveillance from Wednesday’s incident. Stewart said Silva attempted to accost Rincon at one point during the incident.
“We have one individual (Rincon) who's maybe not at this level of breaking things, but is certainly in a form of distress himself, and then is encountering somebody who is incredibly violent,” Stewart said.
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Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, LRomero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Man suspected of ransacking Chucky's in Doña Ana charged with aggravated battery
