Las Cruces man gets 15 years in shooting death of neighbor, wounding another

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A Las Cruces man was sentenced to 15 years in prison with five years suspended in the shooting death of one neighbor and the attempted murder of another.

James Theriault, 82, was sentenced Friday, Feb. 23 in Las Cruces.

Back in November, Theriault was found guilty by Las Cruces jury in the shooting of Fatima Ortiz who survived multiple gunshot wounds and the death of Carlos Picharo. The victims were neighbors of Theriault with a long-standing feud between them, according to the Third District District Attorney’s Office.

After deliberating for about three hours, the jury found Theriault guilty of second-degree felony murder, attempted murder and tampering with evidence,

On July 9, 2022, Las Cruces Police were dispatched to South San Pedro Street, where they found Picharo with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Picharo and Ortiz had returned to their apartment and found Theriault sitting on his front porch. Ortiz started to record him, because of previous run-ins with him earlier that morning, according to the Las Cruces DA’s office.

Ortiz said that Theriault shouted “Record me, baby,” before pulling a gun out and began shooting at the couple. Ortiz said that Theriault shot her twice as she fled. Picharo attempted to get the gun away from Theriault and was shot, the DA’s office said.

Theriault then followed Ortiz into her house and shot her four more times, the DA’s Office said.

Ortiz witnessed Theriault’s son pull him away, told him to stop and they went back to his apartment. Theriault testified and earlier told police at the scene that he had shot the victims in self-defense.

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